Be My Guest
by Merianon
Summary: God left them— left Lucifer again. Lucifer doesn't have a plan anymore, just a goal: have fun. And that's what he's doing until along comes Gabriel Bennett, an adolescent boy with the oddest soul. No plan means no schedule to stick to. Lucifer decides to check this oddity out. He's got time. In the end, what Lucifer finds won't be what he was expecting. S12x9 AU [Edited: 5/24/18]
1. True as It Can Be

**Precursor: This story has now been given a grammar review (aka, treated by my Spring Cleaning Editing). That also means that any reviews have been moved to the bottom of the chapter they were made to.**

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 **Disclaimer:** I don't own _Supernatural_ or its characters. The usual spiel. Oh, and you might have noticed by now, that the title of this story and the chapter titles are based on stuff from _Beauty and the Beast_ – you know, that movie owned by Disney (though to be honest, they don't really have anything to do with what happens in this story; I just have a slight obsession... * _ahem_ *, I mean love for Disney's live-action movie of _Beauty and the Beast_ ).

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 **Chapter 1**

 **True as It Can Be**

It was small. Insignificant. ( _Just like him, them, all of them because He didn't care_ — _He had just_ left _again._ ) And yet… He didn't understand why it had caught his eye. It shouldn't have mattered to him. It _didn't_ matter to him.

Still… It wasn't like he had anything else to do. A small detour wouldn't harm anyone… Well, it might burn the eyes out of any human that dared look upon his true form, but that was their problem. And after his short stints in the billionaire businessman and that archbishop, Lucifer wasn't feeling all that up to jumping into vessel after degrading vessel. He needed to find a vessel that would actually hold him for longer than a day. Sam preferably, but that would happen just as soon as, oh just about never – a prospect that, oddly enough, didn't bother Lucifer as much as it would have six years ago.

Now that Lucifer thought about it, Sam was only important for an Apocalypse, something that wouldn't be happening anytime soon even if he wanted to start one – at least not until Lucifer actually found a suitable vessel. But Sam was only one of a few that would work. After all, bloodlines tended to end up with more than just one 'perfect' vessel at a time.

Either way, Lucifer was out to have _fun_ now. So, perhaps that detour was more appealing than scrounging around for a new vessel.

Lucifer changed his course. His destination became a domestic house. While that seemed bland in itself, _it_ was inside of this home. That thing that shouldn't have caught his eye.

"Come on, Lucy. It's time for bed. School's tomorrow," the young boy told his little sister, trying to get her away from the TV.

"But, _Gabe_ , I wanna finish the movie," she whined, firmly staying in her spot on the couch.

"But you've seen this a thousand times," the boy exclaimed exasperatedly but not loudly enough to wake the rest of the house.

"It's my favorite," she replied defiantly.

The boy, resigned to his little sister's determination to finish watching the movie, sat back down next to her on the couch. "Fine, but don't blame me when Mom asks why you're so tired tomorrow."

The little girl gave her big brother a brief smile before returning her full attention back to the movie.

Lucifer watched it all with dubious suspicion. Something had drawn him here – nothing else would explain why the scene had caught his eye. Their names couldn't have been a coincidence either. _Someone_ was messing with him.

The girl fell asleep just as the movie ended; an ending which Lucifer scoffed at – such _sweet_ fairy tales didn't happen. As if they all lived happily ever after. The thought nauseated Lucifer. But now was not the time to think about the movie's trash ending. Now was the time to follow the boy up the stairs.

Almost as sickeningly sweet as the movie ending, the boy tucked his little sister into bed, whispering a soft "goodnight" into her ear before leaving the room and quietly closing the door on his way out. It wasn't much later that Lucifer slipped into the boy's dreams.

Lucifer had taken the time to skim over the boy's memories as the child was falling asleep. The archangel found it slightly amusing that the boy's father (whose name was _Charles_ of all things) was dead – not just because of the name parallel but that there was also a defect in this kid's little picture perfect home life that Lucifer could exploit.

"Hey, kiddo," Lucifer greeted the dreaming boy. The dream itself was typical of a twelve-year-old, depicting the boy's ideal day in a park. And Lucifer had inputted himself as the father in the boy's dream.

The boy whirled around, eyes wide in some form of shock. "Dad?"

"Who else, Gabe," Lucifer teased him lightly. "Wanna play a game?"

Brown eyes narrowed. "You're not my dad," he stated.

Lucifer inwardly appraised the boy for figuring that little rouse out faster than even Sam (just by a little bit, not enough for it to mean anything). "What makes you say that?"

"My dad wouldn't ask me if I wanted to play a game," the boy said simply. "He'd ask what I wanted to play."

Okay, so the kid was sharp. Lucifer would give him that one. The archangel dropped the guise, trading it for a more familiar one. Nick was always a fun face to have. "Well, you're already playing my game, so me asking was only a pleasantry."

"And you are?" the kid asked, straightening up in attention. He was being notably wary of Lucifer, and it was good to know that the boy had some common sense even in a dream.

Lucifer smirked, letting some of his grace flash through his image's eyes – the irises turning red. "I'm Lucifer."

"You mean like the fallen angel?"

Not only was the kid sharp and knew his biblical lore, but the boy also didn't call him Devil. The kid got some brownie points for that. And so maybe it still wasn't the best reaction Lucifer had ever gotten, but it certainly wasn't the worst. More points. That didn't mean Lucifer liked the kid. Nope, not at all.

"Fallen depends on your perspective, and I'm an archangel. Not just any ol' angel," Lucifer corrected him.

"Cool."

Lucifer blinked and then let out a scoff. "Cool? That's it? No terror for the monster standing in front of you?"

The boy tilted his head to the side. "Define monster."

Lucifer must have gone into the wrong dream. There was no way this boy was this perceptive. Maybe the child had a reused soul. It wasn't unheard of – souls that weren't meant for Hell but never made it into Heaven (for whatever reason) and were then replaced into a human infant. But that still wouldn't give the little punk this level of insight. A _very old_ soul then?

"You don't understand the concept of the Devil, do you?" Lucifer challenged back.

"Of course I do," the boy retorted, crossing his arms. "But you introduced yourself as Lucifer, not the Devil. The two are only loosely tied to each other because they needed something to call the Adversary before his fall from grace."

"And you just happen to know this off the top of your head, huh?" Lucifer drawled, masking a flare of irritation behind his own retort.

The boy shrugged. "I've been told I'm too smart for my age," he muttered, looking away.

"You've been bullied for it," Lucifer observed, raising an eyebrow as a subtle smirk began to reform on his face at the resulting poorly hidden flinch.

"They don't understand what they're doing, not really," the boy said, shrugging again and brushing off the subject. "But that doesn't matter. Why are you here?" he demanded suddenly, almost as if a switch had been flipped.

"Well, at first I was just here because something peeked my interest," Lucifer started, eyeing the boy once more. "But now that I'm here, there's something that I just can't put my finger on, and I'd _love_ to find out what it is."

Lucifer didn't even bother masking his curiosity. It was something about the boy, and it wasn't just his soul— _Huh,_ Lucifer thought with a huff. _You've got to be kidding me…_

The kid was compatible. Maybe not as good as Sam in the 'perfect vessel' sense, but close enough and definitely better than any of his latest vessels. That was it. There was no way this was all just a coincidence. He had had been drawn here for a specific reason (the boy, obviously), but _why_ —

"Yes."

The word snapped Lucifer out of his thoughts. "What?"

"I said yes," the boy repeated, uncrossing his arms and letting them settle at his sides.

Something made Lucifer hesitate on taking the boy up on his offer. "You realize what you just said, right?" The boy nodded. "What do you expect to get from consenting to being _my_ vessel?"

"An opportunity," was the answer.

"So you do have a dark side," Lucifer mused with a soft huff.

The boy shook his head. "An opportunity for you."

"For me?" the archangel scoffed.

The boy simply smiled (a genuine smile, mind you) at him. Lucifer hadn't been on the receiving end of one that came from someone other than his brothers and Father since… well, ever. Sure, he would get one or two, but those smiles were directed at his vessel, never _him_. Something stirred within him. It wasn't a completely unpleasant feeling.

The thought of possessing the boy now made him feel like there was a pit in his stomach, but he also felt lighter than he had in a long time. It was… different. He wasn't sure he liked it. But Lucifer needed a vessel, and the boy had volunteered without any persuasion on Lucifer's part.

Light took over the dreamscape as Lucifer entered the boy's body.

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 **A/N: Oddly enough, I got this idea while watching crack videos (I don't remember which one exactly, but I just know the plot bunny came to me while I was doing… that). And I know that this is like way shorter than any Supernatural chapter I've ever written, but trust me, they get longer. Just think of this as a prologue. Then again, these chapters might be all over the place, length wise.**

 **And let's just get this out of the way: no matter how much it might seem like it, this is NOT slash. If there is anything that remotely looks like it (and I know there is later on), it's all platonic.**

Last edited: [May 5, 2018] This has been a long time coming.

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 **monkeygirl77:** Well... I'm not sure how I'm supposed to respond to all of your fantabulous reviews, but thank you for all of them! I'm still going to answer them individually anyway. I'm a big fan of yours too – I love all of the feels and fluff you put out there. I'll take it as a compliment that you like how my story is going more than the show's version of season 12.

 **Avenage99:** Boy, this was super late, but hey, technically you got my original response to your review in person like the very next day, so yeah. Still, even as I'm rereading your review a couple months later, it manages to make me smile. Everyone's review does. Because you guys took the time to both read this story of mine and then tell me how good I did with it.


	2. Barely Even Friends

**Chapter 2**

 **Barely Even Friends**

Gabriel Bennett groggily opened his eyes as sunlight filtered in through his window. Fighting the siren call of his pillow, he rolled onto his side to blearily look at his clock. 8:37… Gabriel sniffed, blinking at the numbers. Wait… _8:37?!_

Gabriel shot up right, throwing the covers off of him. He almost fell on his face in his haste to get out of bed. He quickly replaced his pajamas with the clothes he laid out for himself the night before (something he always did – it was just part of his routine; waking up late was not). In his rush downstairs to the kitchen, he didn't bother to look into the hallway mirror, in which a figure lazily followed after him. Nor did he bother to look outside.

Gabriel hadn't needed to rush. There was a note in the kitchen from his mom telling him that the school had closed for the day because of a freak snow storm but that she was taking Lucy out shopping and might take a while due to slow traffic. Snow storm?

The twelve-year-old boy looked up from the note to the window. Walking over, he saw that there were small white particles falling from the sky. Gabriel knew what snow looked like. His dad used to take them all up to the mountains whenever there was enough snow for some real fun. But this was Los Angeles, California. It _never_ snowed here.

And yet, according to the news, there was snowfall across the whole city, ranging from a dusting of light flurries to several inches of heavy slush. Gabriel supposed that the area he lived in was getting it easy with only perhaps a couple inches of snow on the ground since it was on the outskirts of the city.

Well, if school was out, then Gabriel really didn't have anything to do. At least now he had some time to himself so he could finish reading those books, he thought to himself as he began his trek back to his room. He was lucky to even have actual paperback copies (admittedly some of them he had just printed off of the Internet) and not have to constantly go find them online to read them. That would have been way more tedious to do than just having the books, and besides, Gabriel liked reading stories off of paper—

Something in the hall's mirror caught his eye. Gabriel paused, blinking in confusion before turning his gaze to the looking glass. There was a man leaning against the wall, just behind him. Gabriel's eyes widened as he spun to face the intruder— But he wasn't there. _What?_ He turned again, slower this time, to face the mirror once more.

"Wha— who are you?" Gabriel asked, glancing away to look behind him to the spot where the other guy should have been but wasn't. And yet when he looked back in the mirror, there he was.

The man _tsked_ at him – the sound coming to reach Gabriel's ears from everywhere and nowhere – and pushed himself off the wall. "I should've known you wouldn't remember that conversation of ours last night."

"C-conversation?" he stuttered out. Was he hallucinating? He didn't remember being in any conversation with this guy at all – certainly not last night.

"Come on, kiddo. Think hard. It'll come to you," the man said casually, inspecting his nails without a care in the world.

"I—" Gabriel cut himself off, frowning. _Kiddo_ … Only his dad called him that— "You!" he exclaimed suddenly as snippets of last night's dream made their way to the forefront of his mind.

Lucifer smirked at him. "Me."

"Don't call me that."

Now it was Lucifer's turn to frown – all the while raising an amused eyebrow. "Call you what?"

"Don't call me kiddo," Gabriel said seriously, rephrasing the demand.

"Or what, _kiddo_?" Lucifer retorted cockily.

Gabriel bristled at the blatant use of the taboo moniker. "How would you like it if I called you Satan instead of Lucifer?"

That got a reaction from him. The muscles around Lucifer's right eye seemed to twitch, and his jaw was obviously grinding his teeth together in irritation. "Fine, brat."

"Don't call me that either. It's rude," Gabriel huffed.

Lucifer's eyes narrowed at him. "Then what would you have me call you?"

"By my name, preferably," Gabriel spelled out for the other being, letting no small amount of sass into his words. It was something he was starting to pick up from his mom. Lucy was still too young to understand it or sarcasm though.

There seemed to be a new tick in Lucifer's facial expression. What was so hard about calling Gabriel by his name? It wasn't like they'd met before and Gabriel had somehow offended him. Unless…

"Is this about _the_ Gabriel?"

Lucifer's eyes narrowed even further, a scowl marring his features. "He has nothing to do with this," the archangel ground out.

"Then you should have no problem calling me by my name," Gabriel retorted.

Scowling, Lucifer huffed and then stalked out of the mirror's view. Gabriel let out his own huff before walking the rest of the way back to his room and flopping down on his bed. He buried his face into his pillow and groaned.

What had his subconscious been _thinking_? Saying _yes_ to Lucifer?! If the books were anything to go by, that was such a stupid thing to do! Sure, Gabriel was still in the middle of finishing _Swan Song_ , but come on!

And the books were real?! Like all of it? Was there really a Sam and Dean? But that meant that Lucifer had gotten out of the Cage somehow. And it had to have been— what? six years now since the last book… Did it have to do with that weird thing with the sun during the summer?

" _That was the work of my dear Auntie Amara._ "

"Gah!" Gabriel yelped, flailing for a moment before falling off his bed and onto the floor. A lance of pain shot through his elbow and back. "Ow…"

An amused chuckle echoed through his head. " _What? Did you think that walking out of your line of sight in the mirror meant I was gone? No, no, no. I'm inside of you, silly._ "

"That's not creepy at all," the twelve-year-old muttered, slowly picking himself off the floor. He brushed back several rebellious strands of fair hair as they had fallen across his face during his minor accident.

Lucifer hummed in his head as if in agreement. " _What was that bit about books again?_ "

"Uh…" Gabriel trailed off, glancing over at his bookshelf where said books sat idly.

" _Oh,_ those _,_ " Lucifer said. An image of Lucifer sneering popped into Gabriel's head, and the boy supposed from the other's tone that it was his actual expression. " _I took you more for a nerd than a geek._ "

Gabriel barely held back a flinch. "Is there something wrong with being either of them?" he asked quietly, eyes staring out at nothing. He then stepped over to the bookshelf, running a finger down the spine of a certain book.

" _To me? I couldn't care less about the ridiculous titles,_ " Lucifer scoffed. " _But you, it seems, have an issue about it… Hello? Earth to human child_ —"

"He was just doing the right thing, you know," Gabriel said just as quietly as before, taking the book off the shelf. "He was standing up for what he believed in."

" _He should have known better._ "

Gabriel turned the makeshift book over. "You didn't have to kill him."

" _Then_ he _shouldn't have tried to kill_ me _,_ " Lucifer shot back.

"You know he wouldn't have been able to go through with it," Gabriel remarked, flipping through the pages.

Lucifer had gone silent, though Gabriel could still feel that cool rush just underneath his skin. The feeling alone was thrilling and terrifying at the same time. A reminder of just what he'd let possess him.

A question formed in Gabriel's mind. "Why aren't you going around… killing people?" he blurted out before he could stop himself.

An image – not unlike before – of Lucifer smirking popped into his thoughts. " _What do you think, kid? Humor me._ "

"Um…" Gabriel looked out the window. Even if it wasn't his name, at least the archangel wasn't calling him anything rude… or kiddo. "You're planning to take over the world by freezing over LA..?"

A roaring laughter filled his head, and Gabriel winced at the noise even as it quieted into nothing. " _You think I'm doing that on purpose? No_ — _that's just a… side effect of my presence._ "

"'Most people think I burn hot. It's actually quite the opposite'," Gabriel murmured, closing the book and placing it back in its spot on the shelf.

" _Did you just quote me?_ " Lucifer asked, curiosity lacing his voice.

"It's not like it's the weirdest thing I could quote," Gabriel said defensively. "Besides, there's a whole section in the fandom that's wild about how you're such a _misunderstood baddie_." Gabriel rolled his eyes with a huff at the last part, sitting back down on his bed and looking outside his window at the falling snow.

A sense of horror filled his being, though Gabriel was pretty sure the feeling wasn't coming from himself. " _Misunderstood baddie,_ " Lucifer repeated numbly.

"Hey, it's not like the deal with Loki from the Avengers movie," Gabriel tried to reassure him. "All the fan girls gush over him like he has the sob story of the century. And while I don't exactly agree with 'sob story', I can sympathize with the guy—"

" _I don't need your pity,_ " Lucifer growled.

"I didn't say I pity you," Gabriel shot back. "I was just saying that you're not the only one with abandonment issues."

Gabriel's room suddenly got very cold. Ice started creeping up his window, and his breath froze in the air.

" _You sniveling ape,_ " Lucifer hissed. " _As if you'd be able to understand the scope of just how screwed up your world is, and that's just over trivial, petty matters. You don't think of the big picture, and you smash the small ones together when they don't fit the way you want them to._ How would you be able to understand my _abandonment issues_ , as you so kindly put it? In no way whatsoever!"

Lucifer had taken control over Gabriel's body by the last lines, shouting them with rage and loss. Emotions that threatened to drown the preteen in frigid waters if he didn't do anything. And it was unsettling, not being able to move his hand or his mouth even when he was sure that his brain had sent the signal for the actions. So instead of talking, Gabriel thought.

" _You're right… I don't understand. I can't understand. My dad left when I was eight, and he's never coming back._ "

The inferno of rage stuttered until it came to a standstill, and the room slowly began to warm back up to its usual temperature.

" _Mom's no better. She's gone more often than she's home. She tries, though, to make ends meet so that Lucy and I can have a somewhat normal life._ "

Gabriel's gaze dropped down to his hands without him wanting to. Such a strange sensation. He could still see everything through his eyes, feel his body's steady breathing, hear the soft sounds of the air flowing in and out of his lungs.

" _And, yeah, I do get bullied. I get bullied for being different, for being smarter than everyone else in school. I get bullied because I like weird things like Supernatural. I'd probably get bullied because I'm talking to you._ "

A sliver of sorrow that wasn't his own ran through him along with a burning hate.

" _But Lucy_ — _Lucilia is the light of me and my mom's worlds. She's what keeps us going. In a way, I guess she's named after you, the morning star, bringer of dawn; kind of like how I was supposed to be named after your brother, but I guess I don't live up to that name very much._ "

That burning hate was washed away by a cold numbness. Sorrow grew to tears.

Gabriel found himself back in control of his body, and wet drops slipped down his cheeks. "So, no. I don't understand. I don't understand why the world is so messed up. But I try. I try to do the best I can, not for me but for my little sister because she deserves better and so much more than I could ever give her."

Gabriel didn't say it, but he was thankful Lucifer remained quiet as he wiped the tears off of his face. Lucifer kept quiet even as Gabriel struggled to calm his breathing and continued to not say a word during the time that Gabriel spent cleaning himself up. It was only when Gabriel sat down at his desk to get on his computer that Lucifer finally said two words.

" _I'm sorry._ "

A small, sad smile adorned Gabriel's face. "It's okay. I don't blame you."

" _Everyone does._ "

"I'm not everyone," Gabriel replied with a self-directed, condescending huff of laughter. He opened up a browser window.

" _You're not as unlike Gabriel as you might think,_ " Lucifer remarked after a moment.

Clicking on the favorites tab, Gabriel felt his curiosity pique at Lucifer's comment. "How so?"

" _Despite what some of you humans might think, Gabriel_ always _had a sweet tooth,_ " Lucifer stated with an air of nonchalance.

Gabriel looked away from the loading video and down to the stash of chocolates sitting in an open drawer. "You saw that, huh?"

" _You're looking at them; of course I saw them,_ " Lucifer said. Gabriel didn't need a mental image to know Lucifer had rolled his eyes.

"Wait, you knew about them because you looked through my memories, didn't you," Gabriel questioned, frowning at the sudden realization. He paused the video so it wouldn't play while he finished this bit of his conversation with Lucifer.

" _It's not like I can help it if you've got random memories floating around in this noggin of yours._ "

Gabriel's frown deepened. "We're going to need to set some ground rules."

" _Do you even know me?_ "

Gabriel face palmed. "If this is going to work so that people don't think I'm insane and put us in a mental asylum, there has to be some kind of agreement between us. I'm already questioning my own sanity, and it would help if no one walked in on me talking to an imaginary Devil."

The image of Lucifer making a face came to the forefront of Gabriel's mind. " _I take slight offense to that._ "

"There! That— don't do that when I'm with someone else. It's distracting, and this isn't even basics."

" _Basics?_ " Lucifer seemed genuinely confused.

"Don't kill people for one. Don't hurt them either. Don't freeze over LA or anywhere else. Don't burn the place to the ground— just don't do apocalyptic stuff. And if you're going to take control, I'd appreciate it if you give me a warning first."

" _You sound like Michael,_ " Lucifer grumbled. " _Don't do this. Don't do that._ "

"It's so we don't get in trouble," Gabriel reminded him.

" _Fine, but if I want to take over, I will take over_ — _warning or not,_ " Lucifer told him.

They fell into a silence, and Gabriel went back to his video that was now fully loaded. After watching the video, Gabriel opened up the 3-D sketch program that the video had given a tutorial on and inputted the proper dimensions he needed for the little world he was going to make.

" _What's that?_ "

"It's a computer program that let's me make stuff," Gabriel answered, pulling up a few pictures that he was basing the world off of. "I'm kind of new to this one, but I usually get the hang of this stuff within an hour or so once I find everything."

" _And the pictures?_ "

So many questions. Gabriel was starting to find that Lucifer wasn't half bad as long as he wasn't being… well, bad. Maybe their little arrangement could work. "They're from a game one of my friends plays. He asked me to recreate the game's version of Heaven because in the game the place gets destroyed or something because of the main villain and he wanted to see it before that happened," Gabriel explained.

" _A game? You mean like Angry Birds?_ "

Gabriel actually laughed at that. "Since when have you played Angry Birds? And yeah, something like that, but you play it on a gaming console."

" _The little green pigs were asking for it. What's the game called?_ "

Gabriel hesitated. "I don't think you'd like it."

" _Oh, look at that, a random memory. I wonder what it's about,_ " Lucifer drawled sarcastically, the underlining threat being not-so-subtly veiled as an offhanded comment.

"The game's called Diablo 3, okay?" Gabriel finally relented, focusing intently on one of the pictures that was more like a map than anything. "I only played a little bit of it with him, and I guess it was okay. He set me up to play through the heaven section with him so I'd have a general understanding of the area. But other than that, it's not really the type of game that I like to play."

" _And what kind of games_ do _you like to play?_ " Lucifer asked.

Gabriel thought the other sounded like he actively wanted to change the subject, which the preteen was fine with. Except that he was pretty sure the archangel would tease him for the game – not that there was anything wrong with it. Lucifer just might think the game was stupid or something… Then again, Lucifer had admitted to playing _Angry Birds_.

On a whim, Gabriel minimized all of his open windows until only the desktop remained. He then held the cursor over the game's icon to highlight it. Maybe Lucifer would take the hint without Gabriel having to—

" _Oh, that's just_ wizard _,_ " Lucifer said teasingly.

Gabriel rolled his eyes at the pun, opting to go back to his task in favor of listening to Lucifer's mockery. He got enough of that at school anyways. Gabriel had already gotten the shape of the city. Now if only he could find—

" _So does that game you like actually teach you how to be a wizard or is it just a name for it?_ "

Gabriel let out a groan, shooting a glance upwards for no particular reason. "Why did I ever agree to this?"

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 **A/N:** **You know, originally I was going to make a certain thing as subtle as possible, but then that just didn't happen, so yeah. If you've already figured it out, good job. It'll prepare you for what's coming up later on. On another note, thank you for all who have favorited and followed so far. I recognize some your names from my other works.**

Lasted edited: [May 5, 2018]

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 **monkeygirl77:** The Angry Birds thing was actually something I picked up from sometime in season 11 (it doesn't show it, but Lucifer really was playing Angry Birds on a tablet at one point). Parallels and backstory are key points for Gabriel's character, and I assume that you're picking up on some important things regarding his character.

 **bbonin:** I can't say that I meant for you to picture a mini-Richard as Gabriel Bennett, but I can also see why you're seeing that. Huh... That's actually kind of cool that you saw that.


	3. Just a Little Change

**Chapter 3**

 **Just a Little Change**

Lucifer watched the next two days (a weekend, no less) of Gabriel Bennett's life go by with a passive interest. After that first day, the human hadn't talked to the archangel much unless Lucifer asked him something. Though there was that one time that the boy had thanked him for the snow (after the boy and the little girl played in the powdered ice)… and then proceeded to ask Lucifer to make it go away.

Lucifer obliged – but let it be known that it was for his own reasons and not the wishes of some human adolescent. After all, the Winchesters were most certainly after Lucifer, especially with that stunt in the archbishop. A freak snow storm over LA was a neon sign pointing right at Lucifer's location, and while Lucifer couldn't care less about the Winchesters or their two loyal pets finding him, it would get annoying to constantly have to move from place to place to avoid them.

That reasoning in mind, Lucifer willed his grace to calm down. The last time he'd been in LA, there hadn't been a snow storm – a fact that sent a surge of frustration through Lucifer. He was losing his control. It didn't help that his emotions were all over the place. But as much as he wanted to shove the pesky abstract things aside, that would also mean he'd be taking the fun out of everything he was doing.

And that was the whole point of sticking around on Earth, wasn't it? To have fun. Because Lucifer didn't know what else he was supposed to do. Start the Apocalypse again? Been there, done that, _boring_. Take over Heaven and Hell? An even more boring prospect. Sure, he'd gotten a high off of people adoring him, but it wasn't him they were 'worshiping', was it? No, those fans had been Vince Vicente's not his – fans that would've flipped their shit if they had realized who had been possessing their idol.

But the boy, Gabriel, barely batted an eyelash at Lucifer. And while, yes, Lucifer could put that to the books _Chuck_ had written, his identity should have terrified the child. Okay, so the boy had his little freak out, but he was fine afterwards.

Then there was that little moment when Lucifer had all but ripped the boy apart because of one odd comment. His reaction wasn't completely unfounded, but it was how the boy responded that caused something to shift. Lucifer still wasn't completely sure what that something was yet, but Lucifer found himself content to just watch what the boy did from this little corner of the boy's mind, making the occasional comment.

Now, mind you, Lucifer was still going to have his fun – one way or another – but that could wait for a while. Lucifer wasn't unfamiliar with waiting; he had spent millennia in a cage plotting his escape after all. So perhaps Lucifer would see this through all the way to the end, no matter how ugly it might get.

And so, on the forth day since Gabriel first caught Lucifer's eye, they had to go to school – by they, Lucifer meant Gabriel, which meant Lucifer had to go, too. Lucifer was fine with sticking to the recesses of the boy's mind, only paying attention to anything that seemed remotely interesting (which was _nothing_ in Gabriel's classes). Lunch, however, served to be a more entertaining time of the day… Well, the first part of it anyway.

"I really don't see how they expect you to eat… whatever that is," Lucifer said, shuddering at the sight of the cafeteria 'meal' while also leaning back into the chair that he'd put in the provided mindscape the boy had in his head. "I really don't want you to eat it either."

" _I kind of have to if I want to keep up a normal appearance, Lucifer,_ " the boy reminded him, his voice echoing quietly about the mindscape. Lucifer hid a smirk as the human child suspiciously eyed the 'fish melt sandwich' in his hands. " _And I already told you before, I'd like to keep a bit of normalcy in my life. I agreed to the 'insta-clean body all the time' and the 'not having to go the bathroom all the time' clauses that you were so adamant about, but eating and sleeping were part of_ my _clauses. That's why it's a compromise._ "

"Why do you have to be smarter than the rest of the kids your age?" Lucifer grumbled. "It'd be so much easier if you just went with everything I said."

" _If I went with everything you said, I'd be in a lot of trouble, and you would probably have the Winchesters back on your trail already,_ " he deadpanned.

"I'm not that overzealous," Lucifer responded in mock offense. The boy's lack of reply was all Lucifer needed to know about his opinion of that statement. "Why are you sitting alone anyways?" he asked, deciding to change the subject.

" _I thought you would have noticed by now, but since you haven't, it's because I don't have any friends,_ " the boy informed him.

"What ever happened to that 'friend' of yours you told me about? The one who played that three devils game," Lucifer inquired.

" _Caleb doesn't go to this school anymore, but he lives close enough for him to come over to my house every once in a while._ "

"Right…" Lucifer sighed. "Any other things I need to know about your plebeian life?"

"You don't have to be rude," the boy muttered. Brown eyes snapped up as he quietly observed the people passing by his empty table, and slowly the boy relaxed once more.

"Close call," Lucifer remarked. "No one noticed that you're having a private conversation with one of the most powerful beings in the universe."

"Shut up, Lucifer," the boy hissed under his breath.

"I'm not the one that's talking aloud to himself," the archangel replied.

Gabriel got up to put his lunch tray away. "Just stop it. Quit acting like an asshole that doesn't give a care in the world."

"As if I actually do," he retorted with a scoff.

"Maybe if you brightened your personality a bit, you'd have friends." Gabriel finished dumping the abomination of a meal into the trash can and set the tray down on the washing rack, giving the lunch lady a small smile before going to back to sit at his table.

"What— like you?" Lucifer snapped. He receded back to his corner and blocked the boy out. Lucifer didn't care to notice the way Gabriel stiffened at the sight of three older boys looking their way.

 **~o-O-o~**

Gabriel should have known Jake would come after him today. Leaving Gabriel alone after a snow day _and_ the weekend was probably just too much for the older boy. And that lunch scene probably didn't help either. If anything, it would add fuel to the fire.

"Hey, loser! Where do you think you're goin', huh?"

Gabriel silently cursed. Turning but keeping his eyes averted, he addressed his bully. "To my locker, Jake, but you already knew that since this is where you corner me every other time."

"Watch it, smartass," Jake growled, taking a dominant step forward. Gabriel's heart rate started pick up like it always did, and fear began coursing its way through his veins. "Last time I checked, we kicked your puny ass in this corner."

"Yeah, kicked your ass," David – Jake's annoying, repetitive bully friend – parroted.

"Maybe he forgot 'cause of all those new _friends_ he's got," Roscoe – that one extra who completed the bully trio – tagged on.

Jake shot Gabriel an evil grin, cracking his knuckles in a rather effective play of power. "Guess we'll just have to make him remember."

Taking an involuntary step back, Gabriel flinched when Jake knocked his books out of his hands. "S-st-stop it," Gabriel stuttered out – his breathing was picking up, each breath harder than the last.

Something in the back of Gabriel's mind shifted.

"Awww, does Gabby have a stutter?" Jake mocked, entering Gabriel's personal space and sneering at the smaller boy when Gabriel leaned away.

"S-st-stutter," David mimicked, creeping up on Gabriel's left.

"Stop it," Gabriel repeated, adding a bit more resolve into his voice. But the demand was clearly lost on the other boys.

"Make us, Gabby," Roscoe taunted, taking up the final side to box Gabriel in.

Gabriel thought his heart was about to beat out of his chest. Traitorous tears threatened to pour from his eyes. He just wanted to go home, to curl up in a ball and forget about these terrors in his life.

"Look! The baby's gonna cry," Jake exclaimed in sadistic cheer. "You're such a girl, Gabriel."

" _That's it._ "

Gabriel's eyes widened at the familiar voice. Something shoved him to the side, but he was still standing, cornered by his bullies. His breathing slowed almost immediately back to normal. His stance changed, back straightening slightly.

"Well, what're ya gonna do?" Jake asked in a deceptively calm manner right before he shoved Gabriel's shoulder.

Gabriel's body didn't respond other than being pushed slightly backwards before smoothly shifting back into its passive aggressive stance. There was a heat – a raging fire that didn't burn – just behind his eyes, and Gabriel managed to catching a glimpse of his reflection in the window. His brown irises had turned a crimson red.

"Touch me again, _maggot_ ," Lucifer spat. "And you'll be missing more than just your hand."

"You tryin' to be scary, punk?" Jake countered uneasily. It wasn't hard to tell that he was thrown off and more than likely freaked out by the eye color change.

Teeth bared, Lucifer smirked – a facial expression far more terrifying than anything Jake could do. "If I were actually trying, Jacob," Lucifer practically purred, "you'd be on the ground crying for your mommy. Not simply close to pissing your pants."

A spark suddenly ignited in Jake's eyes, and the older boy threw a punch at Lucifer. But this was Lucifer Jake was throwing a punch at. Lucifer didn't even blink as he caught the boy's fist with Gabriel's own hand – a stoppable force meeting an immovable object. Then, slowly, Lucifer began to twist the boy's hand.

Jake let out a soft whimper at first and then a cry of pain as an audible snap of bone filled the air. The brief flicker of an amused smile crossed Lucifer's face before he let go of Jake's hand and 'gently' nudged him with a single finger, knocking the older boy off his feet and sprawling on the ground. Gabriel watched the whole process with morbid fascination.

Red eyes turned to the other two boys. "Boo."

David let out a high pitched squeal and took off running with Roscoe close behind him, both letting out strings of profanities that Gabriel was sure their mothers would wash their mouths out with soap for ever saying aloud. Gabriel's attention was brought back to Jake as Lucifer turned his focus back on the main bully.

" _Lucifer..?_ "

"This little worm is going to get exactly what he deserves," the archangel said simply as he crouched down beside the whimpering boy.

" _Lucifer, you can't_ —"

"Why not?" the archangel snapped, looking at the window's reflection. Gabriel was finally able to move; however, the action was only in the reflection. His fearful step back caused a flicker in those red eyes. It was a minute little thing but a flicker nonetheless, and then the fiery rage was back.

Gabriel struggled to come up with an answer, but then he remembered a reddit post he saw a year ago. " _If you kill a killer, the number of killers in the world remains the same._ "

"You forget that I'm already a killer. Removing this insect is only decreasing that number," Lucifer heatedly replied.

" _Are you really going to keep being the monster everyone wants you to be?!_ " Gabriel shouted at him. " _You got mad at me for suggesting you try doing something different. Is it really that good to be the bad guy?!_ "

Lucifer paused. "You think I chose to be the villain?" he asked, voice dangerously low.

" _I think you're so stuck in the ways of your past that you can't bother to change for something better!_ " For being only a reflection at the moment, Gabriel found himself out of breath. The emotions and memories that were resurfacing weren't helping either.

 _"Daddy! Don't go!"_

 _"Sorry, kiddo." A warm hand ruffled his hair. "But Daddy's got to fix a mess he got himself into a long time ago."_

 _Gabriel wrapped himself around his dad's legs. "Why do you have to leave?"_

 _His dad hugged Gabriel back, large arms pulling him into a safe place. "If I don't, you and your sister will get caught up in stuff from my past… I can't drag you into that. I finally get that now."_

Unbidden tears flowed down Gabriel's face. " _I don't care if it's selfish! I don't want to see you ruin yourself over something that's done and gone. I want to be your friend, Lucifer. I really do, and I want to help you too. You get so close to breaking away from it all, but then you fall right back into it. A-and I don't understand_ — _I don't understand why_ —"

Gabriel broke off into soft sobs, unable to continue as his vision blurred from the stinging liquid flowing from his eyes. His shoulders shook minutely, but his mind shuddered in jerking spasms from the emotional overload. The events of today were all just crashing down on top of him, and he had no way to keep himself from being crushed underneath it all.

"You never cease to amaze me, Gabriel Bennett," Lucifer admitted quietly – all of the rage gone from his voice. "Very well, you win this round."

The archangel slowly stood up and then snapped his fingers.

Panic gripped Gabriel by the throat. " _What did you_ —"

"Relax. The bully will be fine… as long as the hospital I dropped him at notices him," Lucifer added the last bit reluctantly.

Gabriel stumbled back a step as he regained control of his body. After regaining his balance, Gabriel went over to collect his fallen books and binder. It was when he turned to look back at the window that he saw the man in the reflection.

"Thank you, Lucifer."

Leaning against the lockers with his arms crossing his chest, Lucifer only looked away. But the small smile on his lips spoke more than any words could say.

 **~o-O-o~**

"Dammit," Dean growled frustratedly, slamming a book down on the table. "It's been two weeks— two whole friggin' weeks! And there hasn't been a single peep about him!"

"Lucifer doesn't care anymore, Dean, remember?" Sam pointed out. "He's got all the time in the world to do whatever he considers 'fun'."

"Yeah, well closest thing we had to a lead was that freak snowstorm over LA, but Cas and Crowley went to check it out and got nothing," Dean huffed, sitting down. "Hell, we've got nothing— it's like he fell off the damn map."

Sam silently watched as his brother grabbed a beer from the middle of the table, opening it and taking a swig. "As much as he doesn't act like it sometimes, Lucifer is patient. _But_ ," he stressed the word before Dean could try to argue with him, "he needs a vessel to do anything on Earth, so as of two weeks ago, he's either looking for a new host or has one and is laying low."

"I don't know, man. Lucifer isn't the type to just lay low, especially with how he is right now."

Sam couldn't disagree with the statement. After Lucifer's stunt as Vince Vicente, the billionaire businessman and the archbishop of St. Louis, it was clear that even if Lucifer didn't have a plan, he wanted attention, power, recognition – and the archangel was steadily climbing up the ladder. There was no telling how high he'd want to go or the destruction he'd cause if he reached an even higher level of power in human society. Sam inwardly shuddered at the thought of Lucifer possessing the President.

"Well," Sam started, getting up and stretching. "There's nothing we can do but wait until something comes up. Besides, I found us a case."

Dean perked up at that. "That's exactly what I need. A good old fashion case. Screw hellion archangels— gonna give me an aneurism one day," Dean said, muttering the last part.

"Sorry, Dean, what was that last bit?" Sam asked teasingly, a smirk twitching on his face.

"Shut up, Sammy."

The smirk turned to a smile as Sam followed Dean down the hallway to the Impala.

* * *

 **A/N: So… maybe the bully was a little too close to home for some of you..? I don't know. I've never been bullied (or bullied anyone for that matter – unless you count me writing this, I don't know), so I can't say this was from personal experience. But I get the feeling that it might go a bit like that – except for the part where Lucifer stepped in.**

 **I kind of also went a little bit more into Gabriel's background/history. You'll be getting more of that later too, but for now you just know that the dad – whom Gabriel was very, very attached to; a hero figure I guess – left on some redemption quest and got killed for it. There's that bone for you to chew on. Hopefully that helped give some context for Gabriel's breakdowns when it came to his dad.**

 **Also, I kind of added in that last bit so we could get some passage of time (as well as some Winchester; it's just not** _ **Supernatural**_ **without them at some point). And if you haven't noticed, this is like way AU now. So** _ **Supernatural**_ **'s President Rooney can go on doing that charity thing he was doing without interruption on Lucifer's part** **–** **meaning no Nephilim mess. I'll refer to other changes as we go. (Sorry, no Jack.)**

Last edited: [May 5, 2018]

* * *

 **Broken Twisted Lullabies:** Thank you for the wonderful review! Gabriel's background is rather fun to work with, and I'm sure you'll get how important he's becoming to Lucifer as we go. I hope this chapter was up to your standards.

 **Liandra2428:** So I thought I wrote in why Gabriel can be one of Lucifer's vessels without burning out (and technically I sort of did – it's literally the paragraph before Gabriel says yes in that first chapter), but here are those reasons anyways:

Gabriel does happen to belong to the bloodline that can house archangels (and more specifically to Lucifer's), and that's why Lucifer was all like ' _you've got to be kidding me... he's compatible_ '; I guess the bloodline would run through Charles's side of the family if you go along with this little thing I'll include next chapter (though you might only get the reference if you've read _Light of Dawn_ ; it's like a cameo for this one character – even then that hinting is mainly inference). The other reason would be that Gabriel soul very, _very_ old – as you'll read later – and I'm talking old as in like Old Testament old. While the reason doesn't necessarily correlate to the specific age to Gabriel's soul, it does coincide with _why_ the soul is so old... You may or may not understand that bit of cryptic-ness, but you will later! I promise you will.

 **Guest:** My thanks to you for your sweet review. Of course I'll update (though when is at my discretion). Did you really read my story twice? (^-^)

 **monkeygirl77:** I do this to you because it's part of my 'job' as a writer to hit you in the feels. I'm glad you like Gabriel Bennett. I really had you in this chapter, didn't I?

 **havarti2:** You know, I woke up at about five in the morning to CircusPsycho's review notification, but I read yours first. And I had to practically suffocate myself with my pillow to smother my laughter. You're right though. I tried to make it subtle, but yeah.


	4. Both a Little Scared

**Chapter 4**

 **Both a Little Scared**

Gabriel glanced over at the clock on his nightstand again. For the life of him, Gabriel couldn't seem to fall asleep. It wasn't Lucifer's fault either.

While technically Gabriel didn't need sleep anymore because he was housing an archangel, (as he had told Lucifer more than once) there was normalcy in sleeping and eating – things that were a part of everyday human life. Hygiene he would be able to get away with since no one would be able to call him out for not being clean or whatever.

That being said, sleeping was only something that Gabriel insisted on. He didn't have to do it at all, even with Lucifer consenting to not interfering with his sleeping patterns. Gabriel could be doing other stuff – like finishing that _Diablo 3_ model for Caleb or reading _Swan Song_ or something…

Gabriel's eyes snapped over to his door when he heard it creak open slightly. "Gabe?"

"Lucy, what's wrong?" he asked his little sister, sitting up on his bed. He could easily make out the dark shape of her small figure with the way his eyes were adjusted to the almost nonexistent lighting in his room.

"Had a nightmare," she answered quietly, shuffling another step into his room. The cloth of her loose pajamas, almost like a dress on her, swayed minutely at the movement.

Gabriel patted the open space next to him on his mattress, scooting over to make more room for her. "Come on, let's get you comfortable."

Lucy quickly moved to climb onto the bed and situated herself to curl next to Gabriel under the comforter. She hugged her favorite stuffed animal – a fluffy, white rabbit (Mister Hopkins) – as Gabriel moved again to properly accommodate the bed's new addition. "Will you tell me a story?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" he asked, continuing on before she would think she actually had to answer. "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away—"

"Not _Star Wars_ ," she interrupted abruptly.

"Not Star Wars," he repeated with a gasp of mock horror. "What's wrong with Star Wars?"

"I just wanna hear a princess story," she told him after trying (and failing) to smother a snicker.

"A princess story…" he said, trailing off on purpose to give himself an air of deep thought. "Hmm… Well then, once upon a time, in a remote kingdom that was located next to a dazzling blue ocean that stretched as far as far as the eye could see, there lived a king and his beautiful daughter…"

 **~o-O-o~**

Lucifer was restless. Something was wrong with him, and he wasn't sure what it was yet. Ugh, what was he _doing_? For some reason he had taken the boy's words to heart that day with the bully.

He shouldn't have been listening to the child. He shouldn't have even bothered sparing the bully. He shouldn't have— well, Lucifer shouldn't have done a lot of things. Not that it changed anything.

That still didn't explain why he was beginning to feel… attached to the boy. _Yes_ , attached. And what made matters worse was that he had no idea how it had come to be. It wasn't like Lucifer was asking to have this happen to him – the opposite in fact!

But Lucifer liked seeing the boy happy. It filled him with a lightness he couldn't explain. And when the boy was sad, Lucifer found himself missing the boy's smile. His grace hurt when the boy cried. He didn't like it when the boy was mad – though he wasn't sure why, Lucifer sometimes felt a sliver of worry that the boy was mad at him. The worst thing was when the boy was scared of him.

It had only happened once during the couple of weeks that Lucifer had been with the boy. That look of genuine terror had made Lucifer feel like someone had stabbed him in the chest (the irony was not lost on Lucifer, considering that the boy's name was Gabriel). That look that had been because of Lucifer. The archangel never wanted to see that look on the boy's face ever again. Not if he could help it.

So, yes, Lucifer would – albeit grudgingly – admit that he was attached to the boy.

The boy— _Gabriel_ was telling his little sister a story, and Lucifer got lost listening in on the tale. Gabriel masterfully wove together the story about of a fair princess and the humble merchant she fell in love with.

The princess had met the merchant as a child, and they had continued to meet in secret whenever the merchant was able to come by the castle during his travels. Years passed, and the couple became distant.

The princess's father fell ill to some incurable disease. Magnificent balls and parties were held in order to attract the neighboring kingdoms' nobles in hopes that one would marry the princess. But then war broke out amongst several of the kingdoms far to the east. Many of the western kingdoms, the princess's included, went to support different sides, and travel became dangerous.

The princess, her heart still taken by the merchant, had refused any suitors, waiting for her love to visit the castle again so she might be able to gain permission from her father to marry the man as the king did not believe the merchant to be real or even be alive after all those years.

The war had come to an end, and the king was on his death bed. The king took hold of his daughter's had with a grip stronger than he should have had. It was here that the king told his daughter of a story the princess was familiar with. He told her the story of how he and the princess's mother had met. He told her to believe. _"Believe that your merchant is still out there. Believe that he will still return to you, and he will."_

Everyone in the kingdom and even the nobles of the other kingdoms attended the king's funeral. People from all around were gathered to mourn the loss of one of the greatest kings the land had ever had. The princess wept in the garden she had first met the merchant – his image, his smile forever cherished in her mind.

A voice then softly called out to her. _"Why do you cry, fair maiden? These tears, though like diamonds, mask your true beauty."_

 _"My father is dead,"_ she responded forlornly to the voice – familiar but she couldn't place where she remembered it from. _"And the love of my life has likely long passed as well."_

 _"But surely, fair maiden, the love of one's life would never leave the other,"_ the voice replied.

The princess sniffled, wiping away some of her tears. _"If he is truly still alive, then I would wish for him to know that I wait for him. I wait for his smile, for his laugh. I wait for the day we meet again."_

 _"Fair maiden, if I may ask, what is that pendant around your neck?"_ the voice inquired curiously.

The princess looked down at the jewel that hung from the silver string. _"It was a gift from a merchant boy I met long ago. He is the one I wait for."_

 _"Then, fair maiden, I would ask, why do you wait? A caravan of merchants has come to your kingdom. Would not one of them be your love?"_ the voice asked.

 _"I wait because of a promise we made as children,"_ she explained reminiscently. _"I wait in the garden for he would always come to me."_

The voice said nothing for several minutes, but then – sounding closer as if the speaker had rounded the corner of the bushed maze to be standing behind the princess – it spoke softly once more. _"Fair maiden, you need not wait any longer."_

The princess turned to face the speaker so she could rebuke him while looking at him, but as her eyes fell upon him, she let out a soft gasp. _"Is it really you?"_

Moving forward, the merchant simply smiled, and new tears ran down the princess's cheeks. The merchant faltered in his steps when he saw the watery trails, but at the beckoning smile of her own, he continued his journey to kneel in front of her, taking her hands in his. _"I know it's been a long time, but I have loved you ever since we first met. You are the light of my world, and our promise is what brought me out of a dark place. My love, will you give me the honor of being my wife?"_

 _"Yes! Yes! Of course!"_ The princess exclaimed happily, embracing her now fiancée and kissing him.

The wedding took place a month later. Once again, everyone in the kingdom gathered but this time to celebrate the coming of their new king and queen. The two lived on and had two children of their own – two sons, both equally good and worthy to be the heirs of the throne. The princess had found her merchant, and they all lived happily ever after.

Lucilia had fallen asleep in Gabriel's arms. Lucifer watched as Gabriel carefully got out of bed and pulled the covers up and around his sister, tucking her in. The boy then quietly moved his desk chair and placed it in front of the window. Lucifer sat down on the bed in the reflection.

"Did you make that one up all on your own?" the archangel asked. He already knew the answer.

Bits and pieces of the story Gabriel told his sister were taken from different books and movies or games that the boy had read, watched and played over the years. Those bits and pieces had then been arranged into the tale of the princess and the merchant. Maybe not pure creativity, but the story had been made of the boy's own imagination – just with a bit of inspiration.

Gabriel shrugged. "Hearing stories helps her fall asleep after a nightmare," he answered in a hushed voice. Lucifer was starting to pick up that the boy liked to talk to him aloud when he could, and Lucifer was starting to like it, too.

Lucifer turned to look behind himself at the little girl still sleeping in her brother's bed. "Does she have nightmares often?"

"No… It's just—" Gabriel cut himself off suddenly, sighing. "Dad left when she was about to turn four. Her nightmares are usually him coming back only to be gone when she looks away."

"And you?" Lucifer asked curiously. "Are your nightmares like that?"

Gabriel shook his head, eyes becoming distant. "I know he's not coming back. I know he's dead."

"How so?" Lucifer was a bit more hesitant to ask the question this time. While he could just look around for the memory relating to Gabriel's statement, he knew the boy would get mad at him for it, and besides, if the boy wanted to tell him, he would.

"Because…" Gabriel said, voice just above a whisper. His eyes shifted to look at the bookcase. "I know because he left me a note."

Lucifer deflated somewhat. That was rather… anticlimactic. "There's something else, isn't there."

"I'm scared, Lucifer."

And now Lucifer was taken aback. "I don't see why—"

"The bully, Lucifer," Gabriel cut him off. "He knows, and his friends know. They must have told someone by now. It's only a matter of time until something bad happens, and I don't know what to do when that happens. I'm scared."

"So what?" Lucifer huffed, standing up and walking over to the boy. "No one can hurt me, us. And if they try and somehow happen to do so, then I'll hit them back harder."

"And if you can't?" Gabriel shot back in a low hiss. Brown eyes pierced into icy blue ones. "I won't let you hurt people."

"But they would have hurt us. I would be protecting _us_." Lucifer didn't know why he had started referring Gabriel and himself together like that. It just fit.

"What about Lucy? What about my mom?" Gabriel pointed out. "I don't want my family getting hurt because someone else wants to hurt me through them."

"Then I'll protect them, too," Lucifer insisted.

"Can you? In a city of over four million people, can you really keep them safe?"

"I can, and I will if I have to."

"That's not the point, Lucifer," Gabriel said, shaking his head.

"Then what?! What am I not getting?" Lucifer fumed.

"I'm going to have to leave, aren't I?" The boy said it so simply, detached from the emotions that should have been behind those words.

Lucifer opened his mouth, a retort on his tongue, but he couldn't say that. "You don't have to leave," he said instead.

Again, Gabriel shook his head, staring out the window. "I've dug myself a grave, and I'm not going to be able to get out of it."

"You little hypocrite," Lucifer ground out, his hands clenching into fists. "Weren't you the one who said to try to do better?"

"Sometimes it's best to know when to let go."

"Stop it," the archangel hissed. "You don't get to just give up—"

Gabriel looked back to his friend. "It's my choice, Lucifer." His eyes wandered past the archangel in the reflection to his little sister's sleeping form. "I might regret it later, when it all finally catches up to me, but in the long run, it's better for both of them. I won't let them get hurt because of me."

Lucifer's body shook with pent up frustration. "Why would you just leave them?"

He wanted to know. How could this boy— this _child_ leave it all behind? Leave everyone he loved? Why… _Why?_

"Because I love them."

Lucifer felt the anger seep from his being. _Stupid_. It was all so stupid. This child shouldn't have to make a decision like this. Gabriel shouldn't have to leave his family. It was his fault. It was because Lucifer had inserted himself into Gabriel's life that this happened. _Dammit_. Damn it all.

"It's not your fault, Lucifer," the boy told him, giving him a small smile. "I said yes. I let you in. I'm why you're here."

"That doesn't make it fair that you have to leave your family," Lucifer argued.

Gabriel shrugged. "Perhaps it doesn't, but we both know it would happen eventually."

"I'm trying to give you a chance to stay with them a little longer," Lucifer snapped at the boy. "Why do you keep insisting to go now?!"

"Because if I don't leave now, I never will," Gabriel said coldly. "I have to leave at some point, but if I stay any longer, I won't be able to let them go."

Lucifer felt like he had just been slapped. Was that why..?

"Don't you want to at least say goodbye?"

A sad smile crossed Gabriel's face. "I already did."

 **~o-O-o~**

Lucilia found the note on the nightstand when she woke up. It was written in Gabriel's almost cursive scrawl, addressed specifically to her.

 _To the light of my world,_

 _Remember when you asked me about where Dad was? You were only four. I told you that Dad wasn't going to come home for a while, and then when you asked again a year ago, that he wasn't ever coming back. You didn't talk to anyone for a week._

 _I don't want to keep this from you like I did about Dad._

 _I'm leaving, Luce. I can't say that I'll be able to come back, and I can't say that you'll understand when you're older because I don't think that you'll ever be able to understand. Just know that I'm leaving to protect you and Mom._

 _I did something – something that you would never believe._

 _It might be best if you tell everyone I'm dead. They won't be able to find me. That being said, I don't care what you do with this letter – burn it, shred it, keep it – just don't let anyone else read it._

 _Everything in my room is yours now. I guess that's as good a will as I'll be able to make._

 _I can't express how much I love you in this note alone. I already miss you, writing this letter. It's breaking my heart, and I just..._

 _I'll be okay, Lucy. I promise. You don't have to worry about me._

 _Love forever and always,_

 _Your brother, Gabriel_

Lucilia read the letter once more before she dropped her hands into her lap and looked out the window. Somewhere out there, her big brother was by himself. He had left her... To protect her.

The eight-year-old's mind struggled to understand, but her heart told her that it would all be okay. Because it wasn't the end. Like her brother told her – what was at the base of all of the stories he told her – if it wasn't okay, it wasn't the end.

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter. This is where the story got way more serious than I ever intended it to be, but that's just kind of happens sometimes. I don't know, you guys/girls should have known that this would happen eventually – and for the point that Gabriel pointed out.** **As for the fluff bit with the princess story. I did happen to come up with that myself, and I feel rather proud of it, so yeah.**

Last edited: [May 5, 2018]

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 **Broken Twisted Lullabies:** It absolutely makes my day when I get reviews like yours (and any type of review, really). As for your question, the answer would be _close but not quite_. You're on the right track; however, the formation of Gabriel Bennett's soul would have taken place _before_ the archangel took a vessel.

 **monkeygirl77:** Lucilia will actually make a come back in a few chapters. Gabriel definitely needs a hug, doesn't he… Maybe I'll put one in at some point. I swear you're on to something… I wonder how close you are.


	5. Neither One Prepared

**Chapter 5**

 **Neither One Prepared**

Lucifer didn't get to solve any crimes in LA during the two times that he'd been there. Really, he'd only added onto that number. He joked about that to Gabriel as they had left the city. Gabriel had only given Lucifer the fleeting impression of amusement.

The boy had let Lucifer take over for the move. Lucifer had asked the boy, "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you like to go?"

Gabriel still didn't say anything, but the question had brought up a memory of a town. Lucifer got a glimpse of why the town was so important. Apparently Gabriel had relatives living there – an aunt, uncle and a cousin that was around Lucilia's age. Gabriel hadn't been able to see this side of his family in a while because his aunt was his father's sister and neither family visited each other anymore after Charles's death.

So Lucifer flew them to the town on a whim. He landed in the middle of a park, letting his eyes rove over the playing children and the passive adults. It didn't take long for him to pick out the boy's cousin. Aside from the hair color, she looked just like Lucilia – the two could have been twins.

" _Her name's Lillian. She's actually younger than Lucy by a month or so,_ " Gabriel finally said out of nowhere.

"Are you sure they're not twins?" Lucifer asked with a teasing tone. He moved from behind the tree line to lean on an old oak, crossing his arms as he continued to watch the boy's cousin play with some other child about her age.

" _They acted like it whenever they were together…_ " Gabriel responded fondly.

Lucifer felt a breeze brush past him, and his attention was drawn to the other side of the playground. There, sitting on a bench... Was that—

" _Can we go now?_ " the boy asked quietly. Lucifer could feel the boy's soul swirling conscientiously. He didn't like spying on his relatives.

"Yeah... Sure," Lucifer answered, still distracted as he tried (in vain) to find the figure on the bench once more. "Where do you want to go? Somewhere fun preferably."

" _I don't know. I've never been outside of California aside from visiting Lillian with Dad,_ " Gabriel admitted.

Lucifer frowned at that. Not only did he have no clue as to where that figure went, but he also didn't have any idea where to go... and neither did Gabriel.

"Well, you might as well take a nap— and don't tell me you're not tired. I'm an archangel, which means I know when you're lying to me," Lucifer told his host. "Besides, it's been a rough couple days for you; you deserve a few hours away from the world. When you wake up, we'll be someplace new."

Gabriel didn't respond, but Lucifer could feel the boy's soul quieting, being pulled into the lull of oblivion. Lucifer let almost forgotten instincts help guide the boy to the world of dreams.

The youngest archangel had always been known for doting on the fledglings, becoming their predominant caretaker in those days before Lucifer's fall. But sometimes people forgot that Lucifer had practically raised Gabriel, and the youngest archangel wasn't the only one Lucifer had cared for.

In the multiple days that the boy had been living out his 'normal' life, Lucifer had taken an interest to watching the boy sleep, an interest that Lucifer was finding himself still invested in. He had a vague recollection of Castiel doing something similar to the older Winchester. He hadn't the slightest idea why the angel would bother watching Dean Winchester sleep, but while Lucifer still didn't get it, he was starting to see some of the possible reasons.

Watching Gabriel sleep calmed Lucifer. Perhaps it was because of the wistful yet completely peaceful serenity radiating from the boy's mind. Or maybe it was the way his soul seemed to get brighter as he slept, unburdened from the heavy weight of the world he lived in.

And this relaxed state let Lucifer see the boy's soul much more easily. It was an odd little thing, rather unlike most of the other souls he'd seen. While it was much brighter than any soul destined for Hell, the soul was... patched? Not unlike it had been ripped apart and put back together multiple times.

Lucifer was not unfamiliar to the occurrence. But 'patched' simply wasn't the right term, not in the way he was thinking of it. No, Gabriel's soul was much more complex than that term could allude to.

The boy's soul was old. It was obvious that it had seen more than one lifetime. What wasn't so obvious was _why_. Lucifer didn't see anything wrong with the soul that would hinder it from being able to enter Heaven, especially not twelve years ago or whenever the original owner had died and the soul had been reused. If Lucifer looked closely, he could see that there were layers to the boy's soul, indicating the multiple reincarnations.

Again, Lucifer didn't see why. Even as Lucifer looked at the subtle layers in the boy's soul, he couldn't find anything that would be the reason to those layers. At the center of the boy's soul, on the original soul, there was naught a scratch. Nothing, not even a speck of darkness that came from sin.

That piqued Lucifer's interest even more.

Still, he pulled away from his miniature investigation. So what if the boy's soul was weird. Lucifer couldn't care less about how old the boy's soul was. Gabriel was Gabriel. Lucifer liked him the way he was, even if that was because of the oddness of his soul.

Wait... Lucifer _liked him_..? Liked Gabriel? Liked a human?

Yes. Yes, he did.

The boy had wormed his way into Lucifer's heart. 'Boy' had gone from just a description of the child to a form of endearment. And Lucifer realized that when he had finally spoken Gabriel's full name aloud, he had let himself truly associate the name to the boy.

There were now two Gabriels in his life: Gabriel, the youngest archangel, and Gabriel, the human boy. Both held a place in Lucifer's heart. Both had given him direction. The archangel when he was but a fledgling, and the boy just by his presence.

Ironically, both Lucifer and the boy were, in a way, lost. While, yes, the boy was giving Lucifer a sense of... purpose, they both had no idea where to go after leaving the place where the boy grew up.

That more or less left forty-six states that they could go to. Forty-six because Lucifer doubted that the boy would be able to revisit California without the temptation of going home. Kansas was just a little too close to the Winchesters' home base for comfort. And Lucifer felt that staying in the continental states would be best, taking Hawaii and Alaska out of the picture.

Lucifer supposed that starting off with something small would work. What did humans even do during the winter? Sure, Lucifer had an idea of the holidays from Nick's, Sam's and the other's memories – even Gabriel's smaller amount about winter provided a good amount of insight. But he didn't think that Gabriel would want to celebrate the winter holidays.

The archangel then supposed that they could just wander the country. He'd gleamed from one of Gabriel's memories early on that it was one of Gabriel's lifelong dreams – to see the sights, so to say. They were already in the State of Washington. It wouldn't be hard to simply go due east and just go on from there.

Yes, that could work. Lucifer would have to figure out exactly how to do the wandering. He was pretty sure that Gabriel didn't like flying around all the time. Well, he knew the boy liked the flying part… just not the jarring dislocation part of it – being one place one moment and somewhere else the next.

Hmm… Lucifer would have to think this out more. He'd have to keep track of all the places they were heading to so Gabriel had a good idea of where they were going to next. He'd probably also have to keep feelers out to make sure they didn't encounter anything… supernatural.

Lucifer glanced up at the setting sun. He had stayed in the park long enough. With a slight flap of his wings, he flew to the nearest – and nicest – hotel (not motel). He was just about to step up to the receptionist to get a room for the night before he remembered that Gabriel was only twelve. Casting an illusion about himself to look like Nick, Lucifer easily bartered a cheap price for one of the nicer rooms.

Taking the key card from the man, the archangel forced a smile before heading for the stairs, letting the illusion drop as he entered the stairwell. He didn't trust the elevators one bit. Besides, it wasn't like he was in a hurry, and while Gabriel might have been on the skinny side, he was fit for a twelve-year-old. Not that it mattered to the archangel.

Several minutes later, Lucifer arrived at their floor. He followed the little sign's directions to his room's number and opened the door without too much trouble. He flicked on the light to reveal the single bed with the TV across from it. Lucifer didn't even acknowledge the bathroom or the table set or the dresser or the hotel compliments. He just sat down on the edge of the bed, looking into the mirror off to the side.

His hard expression softened at the sight of Gabriel sleeping on the bed in the reflection. Maybe, just maybe… this would all work out.

 **~o-O-o~**

Gabriel took in a deep breath through his nose as he rose back into consciousness. The fact that he was the one to take the breath was his indicator that he was in control of his body. The boy groaned. His body felt like he had run a marathon. What had Lucifer been doing?

Rolling onto his side, Gabriel was right in his guess that the nightstand was on his left. Judging by the lack of light coming in through the window, he assumed that when the clock showed it was 11:54, it was also night. Gabriel sat himself up, propping his upper body on the fluffy pillows. So he was in a hotel room. That was… new.

"I figured that you'd prefer a hotel over the cheap motel across town," a familiar voice said, coming from his right.

The boy blinked, his eyes still adjusting to the dim room, when a lamp turned on. It wasn't bright enough to make him shy away from the sudden light, but it was enough to make him squint. What he saw almost made his jaw drop in shock. "I thought I couldn't see you unless it was in a reflection," he finally managed to get out.

Lucifer cocked his head to the left. "Well, this is just an illusion that I'm directing from inside your head, so… technically you're not seeing _me_ —"

"Don't," Gabriel said suddenly, raising a hand up to stop the archangel. "I just woke up. My brain can't handle those kinds of explanations yet."

A smirk grew on Lucifer's face (because no matter what way you looked at it, it was still Lucifer, even if it was an illusion). "But we didn't even get to the good part yet," he replied cheerfully.

"You can explain it in detail later. Give me the short version for now," Gabriel told him, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"If you insist," Lucifer sighed dramatically. "Since you can't just roam the country by your twelve-year-old lonesome, I thought it'd be a great idea to have an adult – or at least the form of one – travel around with you."

"Wait— 'roam the country'?" Gabriel asked before Lucifer could launch into some long tale of something or other about how he came up with the idea.

Lucifer nodded at the boy's question. "Since neither of us know where to go, I figured we could just wander until we thought of something else."

Gabriel narrowed his eyes at the archangel. He knew the archangel had a tendency to look through his memories (not that Gabriel could stop him from doing so), and that it was more than likely that Lucifer knew that seeing all of the continental states of the USA was something on his bucket list.

"Okay," Gabriel said slowly. "So you want to go from state to state, visiting cities and tourist sites… with me… for who knows how long..?"

"Well," Lucifer sniffed, looking up and to the right as if he really had to think it over. "Yes."

Gabriel refrained from letting out a sigh. While he did want to see the country, there was no telling what might happen along the way – especially if Lucifer got bored. Then one had to consider the supernatural aspect. Even with an archangel (that might actually increase the chance since this was Lucifer after all), they were bound to run into trouble.

"I wasn't lying when I said I'd protect you," Lucifer stated suddenly, the epitome of seriousness in his expression. "If that means protecting you against me, then so be it. I will, even if I have to leave the picture, make sure you have your happy ending."

"Lucifer…" Gabriel started, trailing off when he didn't know how to continue. He hadn't been expecting the declaration.

A small smile grew on the archangel's face. "I still hate all of you humans. But you… For you, I will make an exception. You gave me things I don't deserve, and all I did was take from you. This is the least I could do."

Ice blue eyes stared into brown ones. It was only by the cool grace humming underneath his skin that Gabriel remembered that it was an illusion staring into his soul. An illusion that Gabriel's mind was already automatically registering as Lucifer.

Gabriel matched Lucifer's smile with one of his own. "So about the illusion…"

Lucifer perked up at the topic suggestion, picking it up easily. "Most forget, but Gabriel learned all of his tricks from me. Of course I can make illusions— that's easy. Making them physical and controlling them is where it gets tricky…"

 **~o-O-o~**

"Hey, Dean!" Sam called for his brother. His eyes were glued to the article in front of him. There was no way, but he couldn't take any chances.

"What?" Dean shouted back.

Sam rolled his eyes. His brother was somewhere nearby (probably only down the hallway), but he didn't think to come over the short distance to the library where he should know Sam was instead of making Sam go find him. "I think I found something."

"Another case?" came the response. At least it sounded like Dean was getting closer.

"Lucifer," Sam answered as Dean walked into the room.

That stopped Dean in his tracks. "Where?"

"Memphis, Tennessee," Sam stated, turning his laptop around for Dean to see.

Dean blinked at the screen a couple times before shaking his head. "Why does he look like that guy he was wearing during the Apocalypse?"

Sam shrugged. "No idea, but look at who's standing next to him."

Dean glanced at Sam before looking back to the screen, frowning as he did a double take on the picture. Sam knew that there was a kid standing next to Lucifer. They looked like an innocent father/son couple in the picture, easily passing as any old family. But Sam would know Lucifer's old vessel anywhere, even if he'd changed what he was wearing. What concerned Sam the most was the kid.

He couldn't have been more than thirteen. Blond hair swooped down across the top of the boy's brown eyes. A smile adorned his adolescent face. He was clearly enjoying himself at the festival they were attending, and it was obvious that he was well taken care of. That just made Sam worry even more. What was Lucifer up to?

"How are we even sure it's him?" Dean asked after another minute, looking away as Sam shot him a bitch face. "It's been over six months, Sam," he pointed out.

"It's him, Dean," the younger Winchester insisted. When Dean huffed in resignation, Sam continued, "Are we going to tell the others?"

"As if they'd let us keep them out of the loop about something this big," he scoffed. "Even as small a lead as it is," he added on after a moment.

"I'll call Cas," Sam inputted before Dean could go on with his own suggestion.

"Which leaves me with Crowley… Great," Dean sighed wearily with a glare directed at Sam. "Bitch."

"Jerk."

"Whatever, just tell Mom to pack her bag," Dean said, heading to the hallway that lead to his room. "We're goin' to Tennessee."

* * *

 **A/N: So...** **here's how the changes in my story affect plot from cannon so far~**

 **Because the Men of Letters' British Chapter were never called for assistance with Pres. Lucifer in** _ **LOTUS**_ **, Cas never had a reason to trust them enough to help with Sam and Dean, who in this case were never imprisoned by the government (on a side note, that kind of means the Winchester bros never made a deal with Billy, and so technically Billy isn't dead – not that it'll matter because she's not showing up in this story). Now, that MoL stuff being said, the British Chapter – like Billy** **–** **are like 99.99% not likely to show up in this story. Not even a brief mentioning. Can you tell how much I** _ **love**_ **those guys?**

 **And because it's been like six months, let's assume that Mary is cool with the future by now. I'm also going to put out there that Cas has most of his angel powers back (at least the ones not affected by the Fall in S9), and Crowley is kind of just doing his thing with some power over Hell. Also, as a side note referring to season 12 episode 12, because the British MoL never really got to Mary, Ramiel never got disturbed and therefore he still has the Lance of Michael and the Colt – and that end part with Lucifer also would never have happened (obviously… though I must admit I got the most excited chills from that scene XD).**

Last edited: [May 5, 2018]

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 **Broken Twisted Lullabies:** Lol, I don't mind you loving multiple chapters. It makes me feel like I'm doing this right. And just keep looking for that missing piece about Gabriel's soul. Right now, what you're 'missing' is something you'd kind of have to read in between the lines for. If it makes you feel a bit better, Dean will be not so subtly hinting at the answer like four chapters from now. I'm less subtle about it at that point.

 **monkeygirl77:** Lol, if you can't, then why are you still reading? I know you love it and that I have you hooked now. Lucifer is totally protective of Gabriel and not just because Lucifer needs to preserve his vessel. I make them loveable and then do horrible stuff to them because conflict and plot (hurt, now – they'll get comfort later). I actually based the festival off of the Memphis City Sunset Symphony along with a couple other things that usually take place around the end of May.

 **Guest:** Gabriel Bennett left Lucilia to keep her out of the supernatural world. He still wanted her to have as normal as a life as she could get with how things turned out. Taking her with them would have destroyed any chance of that.


	6. Bittersweet and Strange

**Chapter 6**

 **Bittersweet and Strange**

Six months. It had been six months since Gabriel left home.

Lucifer had taken him to see twenty-four states so far. In each one, Gabriel had bought three souvenirs. One: a postcard. Two: something symbolic of the state for himself. And three: a gift for Lucilia.

The gifts were things that he thought she might like if he ever got the chance to give them to her. Gabriel kept them all in special cases – three, one for each type of souvenir – that Lucifer had snapped into existence once his collections became too much to simply carry. These three cases would always be waiting in the hotel room Lucifer had picked out for the night (though sometimes Gabriel got to pick and Lucifer would just go with the choice).

They spent (on average) a week in each of the twenty-four states, and it was now nearing June. They had arrived in Tennessee just the other day, coming up into Memphis through Mississippi. Originally, they were only going to spend a day in the riverside city, but Gabriel asked Lucifer if they could stay an extra day. Lucifer had only agreed because they were technically ahead of their 'one week-ish per state' routine (and technically had been since Arkansas, which had been about eighteen days ago).

They essentially had a list. There was an order to the states they were going to, an order that Gabriel and Lucifer had devised on a rainy day in Seattle. It was what first started the loose weekly tradition. Personally, Gabriel couldn't wait till they got to Florida, but he knew that it would only be another two weeks (at the most) until they entered the Sunshine State. And until that time, Gabriel would enjoy what Tennessee had to offer.

At the very end of the list, they would go back to the states (really, it was more like certain cities) they decided needed a second touring. And then, well… They'd figure something out after that, too.

One of the cool things that traveling with Lucifer included was the archangel's ability to get what he wanted simply by talking the other person(s) into it. At first, Lucifer had been a little ( _understatement_ ) intolerant of having to deal with humans in such an interactive way and so often without snapping someone's neck, but Gabriel had helped him learn to curb the anger/disgust/hate and put some things into perspective. Now, Lucifer was more likely to simply just take his frustrations out on whatever game on his phone was helping to calm him that day rather than going on a killing spree. That had only taken a couple weeks, thankfully.

Another good thing was that Lucifer had a rather endless supply of money. Though Gabriel wasn't sure where it all came from, he had the sneaking suspicion that it came from the Church (or maybe even the Vatican) as Lucifer had muttered something about "Dad's never going to use it anyways".

And possibly the best thing was that Gabriel was free to do what he wanted. He still stuck to the morals he grew up with, but he found that he was learning more than he ever had while in school. There were many cultures and subcultures in the different states which he quickly picked up on. He found that it was kind of fun to apply the different things he was learning to each new style and watch people's reactions to the different combinations.

One of the biggest things that had both major pros and cons was the illusion Lucifer was using. They had quickly found out that the archangel couldn't use it for long stretches of time (especially when the illusion had to be used for more physical matters) because Gabriel would start to feel sick. It also meant that Gabriel had to actually sleep (the eating thing was still optional, though Gabriel took it most of the time). Lucifer would stop using the illusion whenever it wasn't needed. Besides, they only really needed it in public.

Anyways, this all lead to here: the Bass Pro megastore thing in the Memphis Pyramid.

Gabriel didn't really care for the fishing or hunting or sports products in any of the shops, but he still looked around. He hadn't expected it to be so big on the inside. Sure, some of the other malls were huge, too, but this was specifically Bass Pro stuff in here, right?

"Hey, wanna check out the observatory?" Lucifer asked him, giving Gabriel a soft nudge before pointing at the elevator.

A bright smile lit the boy's face as he nodded. "Do you think we'll be able to stay in the hotel they have in here?"

Lucifer let out a scoff, rolling his eyes. "You're really asking me?"

Gabriel just gave him a knowing smile. Lucifer's tactics didn't always work, which usually resulted in the archangel buying his way into places (sometimes just all together flying Gabriel in). Gabriel was more than sure that the latter parts were on the shadier side of legal (or just outright illegal), but he couldn't complain. Lucifer was taking care of him.

"Okay, Gabriel," Lucifer started as they reached the observatory. "It's only eight, and I'd say you've got another couple hours in you, so is there anywhere else you wanna hit tonight before you fall asleep on your feet?"

Gabriel pursed his lips in thought, looking out over the giant store. "Can we go walk by the river?"

"We were just there last night for the festival," Lucifer commented, raising an eyebrow.

"I think it's relaxing," Gabriel muttered back feebly.

Lucifer sighed. "Sure, I guess a walk in the dark beside a wide, running river is a great thing to do while we wait for your bedtime," he responded dryly.

After spending just a little longer on the observatory deck, Lucifer escorted Gabriel down the elevator, out the store doors and to the riverside, where the city had sidewalks for people who like to jog or walk along side the Mississippi River. It was night, which wasn't exactly the safest time to be wandering about in big cities (or anywhere, really). But it was also the night of a full moon, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. So, while dark outside, one could see anything in the open areas, washed in the silver-white light of the moon.

Gabriel walked on the concrete path that was distanced a good ways from the actual river. Lucifer had dissipated the illusion as it wasn't truly needed and it would give Gabriel a bit more time before he needed to get some sleep. That didn't mean they couldn't talk to one another, though. In fact, it might have even been easier this way. Lucifer's responses still echoed in Gabriel's head, and Gabriel simply talked aloud since no one else was around to hear him.

Their riverside conversation consisted of the usual light dialogue. Sometimes Gabriel would make a reference that Lucifer wouldn't completely understand right away, and occasionally Lucifer would lightly tease Gabriel and either fluster the boy or the boy would come up with a matching retort.

Lucifer told Gabriel stories. Little snippets of things that had happened in Lucifer's lifetime, which left the archangel with an almost ceaseless amount of those stories, but more often than not, he tried to keep them within a time frame the boy could understand, giving the boy references to when certain stories took place.

Tonight, Lucifer was telling him more about Sam when the younger Winchester came to the archangel for help with the Darkness. " _Yeah, I was trying to convince him to say yes to me so I could get out… again._ "

"How did you get out anyways?" Gabriel asked, watching his feet take each step on the concrete and occasionally brushing his blond hair out of his face as the wind continued to sweep it back around. "I know Sam didn't say yes, so..."

" _It was Castiel that actually consented, but that's later,_ " Lucifer said before going on with the tale of how he got out of the Cage a second time. " _Anyways, Sam was being Sam_ — _very noble, very stubborn, very… well, you know how he gets when he thinks he's doing the right thing._ "

When Gabriel nodded, Lucifer continued, " _At this point I was giving him the run down of everything_ — _mostly that I was the only way he was going to be able to beat Amara. Gabriel and Raphael are dead, God was and is gone – on vacation at the moment – and Michael… well, I told Sam that big brother was singing show tunes and touching himself, but…_ "

"But?" Gabriel gently pressed. If Lucifer didn't want to tell him, Gabriel probably wasn't going to get an answer. But sometimes it just took the archangel a few minutes to finally decide that he could tell the boy.

" _I mean, he's not touching himself or singing show tunes… He's just…_ " Lucifer kept trailing off, and Gabriel had to wonder just what was actually 'wrong' with Michael.

"Is it something about the Cage?" he asked. Gabriel might be able to get an answer this way, with yes-or-no questions. It only worked sometimes though.

Lucifer was still silent, but Gabriel could feel the swirl of cool grace just under the surface of his skin. The grace felt like it was in turmoil, like it wasn't actually sure about the answer.

" _The Cage is designed to mess with your head,_ " Lucifer started slowly. Gabriel kept a lid on any shock that started to come forth. Lucifer never openly admitted anything about the Cage if he could help it. " _I had millennia to get used to it_ — _I could handle it… Michael… couldn't._ "

"You can't blame yourself for something you can't control," Gabriel told him. He didn't mask the concern he was feeling. It was better for Lucifer to know that someone cared.

" _I don't,_ " the archangel insisted. " _I just…_ "

"You miss him," Gabriel finished for him.

He had stopped walking at this point, turning to look out over the river. The reflection of the moon rippled across the dirtied, flowing waters. Gabriel could only just make out the line of trees on the other side of the river in the dark of night, even with the light glow coming from the moon.

" _I miss all of them,_ " Lucifer quietly admitted. " _They were my family_ — _before all of this_ — _this mess… And they're all gone now._ "

"Are, Lucifer," Gabriel softly corrected the archangel. "They _are_ your family. As long as you remember them here," he said, placing a hand over his heart, "they will always be with you."

Again, Lucifer was silent, but Gabriel could almost feel the other thinking, taking in the words. Then, " _Isn't that some quote?_ "

"I paraphrased a bunch of them, but yeah," Gabriel said with a small smile. "We humans do come up with some good stuff."

" _So I've noticed,_ " Lucifer muttered.

 **~o-O-o~**

Mary watched the fleeting forms of objects come and go as Dean drove the Impala through the city. The eight and a half hour drive had been tense, barely a word being spoken, but they were officially in Memphis, Tennessee now. Castiel and Crowley were both out, already searching the city of any sign of Lucifer's presence, which left Mary mostly to herself in the backseat of the car.

This car… the Impala— John's car— Dean's car. For a while, it had been the only thing she had left of her life before she'd died. But Sam and Dean were still her boys, her sons. She still had them, too.

She thought back to the picture Sam had shown her. Her youngest son had shown her the picture so she would know what to expect of the Devil. What Sam hadn't intended was to show her the boy standing next to Lucifer.

Mary knew the look in the boy's eyes. Whether it was obvious or not to Sam and Dean – to Mary, it was clear as the night sky was above her that the boy in the picture knew exactly who was standing next to him and the boy didn't care. The child enjoyed the other's company. The two were probably inseparable.

It was also clear to her that Lucifer cared for the boy. In what way, Mary wasn't sure, but she could see how the Devil held himself next to the boy. It was a subtle, protective stance. Mary reasoned that perhaps the boy was special to Lucifer. Either as a little brother or a son, again, she wasn't sure.

But she had kept quiet about her thoughts. From what Sam and Dean had told her about the archangel, Lucifer was very dangerous – not only in power but also in his many cunning styles of deceit.

Taking that into consideration, Mary found that the picture then made no sense. Why would the Devil choose to be with this child? Was it for a ploy that took course over a long period of time? Did that mean he was manipulating the boy? But then, why were they both smiling?

Six and a half months of nothing, and then Sam happened to find a picture with vessel that Lucifer wore during the Apocalypse standing in the background in clear view.

Sam even told Mary that the only reason he'd come across the picture was because of an odd death linked to the festival, but the murder had been solved not long after Sam found the picture. Mary would have put it to pure coincidence if she didn't know better. The universe was rarely so lazy.

But Sam and Dean were in a rush to get to Memphis – there was no telling how long Lucifer would stay in one place, they reasoned. The two hadn't stopped to think about the information, just that they had it.

So, yes, Mary was more than a little suspicious of the circumstances around Sam finding the picture, and she didn't completely share the exact concerns her sons did about Lucifer and the boy.

There – as Dean slowly rounded the sloping side of a grassy hill upon which sat the tenements of people who could pay for the riverside view – stood a boy, looking out over the river.

"Stop." The command left her mouth before she even registered saying it, as did the words that followed. "Stop the car."

Dean glanced back at his mom before pulling over and slowing to a stop. "What's wrong?"

Mary merely pointed at the boy. Both Sam and Dean's eyes followed the direction her finger pointed, halting on the same sight that held her gaze.

The boy was alone, and he stood a good thirty yards away. But with the moonlight shining down on him, it wasn't hard to tell that this was the boy from the picture.

A man suddenly appeared next to the boy, saying something that Mary had no doubt was private between the two of them. The boy looked up at the man – who was undoubtedly _not human_ – and said something in turn, shrugging. The boy then started walking toward the Memphis Pyramid, and after a moment, the man began to follow.

"That's them," Sam said breathlessly.

Without taking his eyes off of the pair, Dean pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Cas, we found him... No, not yet—... Just hurry up and get over here— and tell Crowley to have the cuffs ready…"

Castiel must have ended the call because Dean looked down at the phone and put it up a moment later. He then slowly followed the boy and Lucifer, staying a good distance behind them. It was when the two had stopped at a bench that Dean turned off the car and got out. Sam followed suit, practically mirroring Dean as they went to the back of the car.

Keeping her eyes on the pair, Mary got out as well, but she didn't meet with Sam and Dean, who were pulling out what looked like a simple angel blade. However, Mary knew that it was actually one of the archangel's swords.

After not finding anything on Lucifer for a month, Sam had gone into looking for something that would stop Lucifer when they did eventually cross paths again. He had made a list of things they knew might work, and with a brief mentioning from Castiel, Sam had tried looking for Gabriel's blade. It took almost two months, but he was miraculously able to locate it. A week or so after that, Sam and Dean had it kept safely in the Bunker. They reasoned that while they might never get close enough to use it, the blade would pose a threat to Lucifer.

Before they left the Bunker in the race to Memphis, they had all agreed that Mary would handle the boy while Sam and Dean would go after Lucifer. It wasn't anything against Mary, but more that Sam and Dean felt the need to constantly keep her out of harm's way. Especially when it involved Lucifer.

The best case scenario as of right now was that Sam and Dean would be able to distract Lucifer long enough so that Castiel and Crowley could arrive.

And so far, all seemed to be in their favor. Lucifer and the boy were distracting each other from the Winchesters, lost in conversation.

"—not that I don't get how it worked," Mary heard the boy saying to the archangel. "I just don't understand why it worked."

Mary could barely make out the small smirk that was on Lucifer's face from the angle she was coming from. "Of course you wouldn't. I haven't told you about the other part of that day," Lucifer told the boy in a conspiratorial, hushed voice.

Sam and Dean shot each other a nod, and suddenly Lucifer was tackled to the ground. Mary quickly pulled the boy away from the fight. She put herself between the boy and the others, bringing the boy close to her in a tight embrace. The boy struggled, not knowing what was going on.

"It's okay," Mary whispered in his ear. "It's okay. I've got you."

The boy shook his head but stilled in her arms. "You don't know what you're doing," he told her.

Mary frowned at that, but a sudden cry of pain drew her attention back to her sons and Lucifer. Sam was now sprawled on the ground a few feet away, and Dean was locked in close combat with Lucifer, blade in hand.

Mary could see the way the archangel eyed the blade warily but was undaunted by its presence. "You should have stayed away," Lucifer hissed, irises flashing a violent red.

"You should have gone back to your cage," Dean retorted.

A shudder from the boy brought Mary's focus back onto him. "Why won't they stop? He's not hurting anyone," he whispered. "You have to stop."

Lucifer abruptly looked their way, and Dean took the opening to make a stab at the archangel. However, the blade only met open air. Lucifer had vanished only to reappear behind to Mary and the boy.

"Mom!" Dean shouted in warning, quickly making his way over to them.

"Let him go," Lucifer said, accentuating each word, his voice dangerously low.

A shiver ran down her spine. Mary felt the air around them drop into temperatures that shouldn't be at the beginning of summer. Terror chilled her core. She was a seasoned hunter, but she couldn't seem to move as primal fear gripped her in its jaws—

"Don't hurt her."

Mary barely registered the soft spoken command over the blood rushing through her ears, but she felt Lucifer bristle behind her. Some form of communication must have passed between them because Lucifer then took a step back, his red eyes flicking back to a steadily incoming Dean.

Lucifer was soon in front of Mary once more, blocking a strike from Dean with his forearm before punching Dean in the face with his other fist. Dean stumbled back, but before Lucifer could throw another punch, Sam came at the archangel from the side, taking them both down to the ground.

Mary heard the flutter of feathers behind her. A sigh of relief escaped her lips. "Cas," she breathed, turning to face her sons' friend.

The angel barely gave her a glance and a brief nod before taking stock of the situation. A frown came over his face, and he then looked back to Mary – not Mary, to the boy. "Crowley will be here momentarily," Castiel informed her. "Do not let the boy out of your sight."

Mary could only nod as Castiel plunged himself into the battle. At first the addition seemed to turn the odds back to their favor, but it soon became clear that Lucifer was more skilled than the trio.

In her arms, the boy began to sag. Mary tightened her grip around him, worriedly shooting a concerned look down at the mass of blond hair. She then pulled back, looking into the boy's face. He looked tired, much more so than he had a minute ago, and he looked to be getting even more tired by the second. _What..?_

"Hello, darling," a British voice called from behind her. Mary barely refrained from jumping out of her skin. Why did they all have to show up _behind_ her? "Looks like the boys are in a bit of a pickle."

"Crowley!"

Mary was pretty sure that she tolerated the demon more than most in her family would initially, considering she had only met him a couple months ago. It probably helped that he was in relatively good terms with Sam and Dean. That being said, her patience was a wearing a little thin _due to her sons being beat up by the Devil_.

"Ah, ah, ah," the demon tsked, holding up a finger in a gesture that called for patience. Crowley looked back and forth between Lucifer and the boy – almost like how Castiel had. But then Crowley just continued to stare at the boy. "Oh, bollocks," he muttered.

"What?" Mary demanded.

"Watch," was Crowley's simple reply.

That frown came back over Mary's face, but she still turned to watch the battle between Lucifer and her boys. Currently, it was Dean that was now lying on the grass, and Sam and Castiel were struggling to hold Lucifer down as Dean picked himself up.

Lucifer's form flickered and vanished before popping back up a foot away, out of Sam and Castiel's grasp. Not a minute later something similar occurred. Dean had swiped the blade at Lucifer's chest, but it only passed through him. Again the archangel's form flickered and reappeared elsewhere.

Mary's eyes turned back down to the boy. With each flicker, the boy grew even more limp, though he pushed himself to stay awake. And then Crowley was right in front of her. She looked up at the demon. Her eyes fell on the pair of slim, steel cuffs he held in his hands.

"No," she said defiantly. "There's no way—"

"All the evidence points to the obvious, love," Crowley told her, raising an eyebrow.

"But—"

Crowley cut her off with a hard stare. "The boy clearly said yes. What Moose, Squirrel and Giraffe are fighting is just an illusion."

The boy stiffened in Mary's grasp. "Don't touch him!" an enraged shout came from the archangel.

Distracted, Lucifer was suddenly left open to a punch from Castiel, and the archangel staggered back. Crowley shot a hesitant look over at the scene. He then attached the cuffs to the boy's wrists. The boy fell unconscious. Lucifer's form began flickering in place as he stumbled to get closer to Mary and the boy.

" _Gabriel!_ "

Mary felt her heart crack at the desperate cry. Lucifer's figure disappeared into a blue haze that soon faded as well. The boy stirred, and Mary caught a glimpse of red irises before Crowley hit the boy upside the head with a crowbar, hard.

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, I don't really have anything to say… Well, actually I meant to post this like two days ago, but I got distracted (and not by schoolwork for once!)... But hey, it's here now.**

Last edited: [May 5, 2018]

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 **Broken Twisted Lullabies:** I'm not kidding – I really did forget about updating this [referring to the chapter 7] until your review came in. Oh, and the interrogation isn't short. It kind of flows over into two chapters. I assume you're getting closer to the answer of a question that's been around since— what? chapter three?

 **monkeygirl77:** Mary will have sense in the fic. I promise. Sam, Dean and Cas will too… eventually.


	7. Finding You Can Change

**Chapter 7**

 **Finding You Can Change**

Gabriel let out a soft groan. His head hurt.

He slowly opened his eyes, or at least he thought he did. It was pitch black in whatever room he was in – and it had to be some kind of room because this kind of darkness just wasn't possible if he had been outside. His breathing picked up. He wasn't used to waking up like this.

The ground underneath him was cold and hard, like smooth concrete or marble. It was probably the former. And there was something cold around his wrists. They were heavy and chaffed his soft skin. A brief memory of the metal things being cuffed to his wrists flickered through his mind.

"Lucifer?"

His voice sounded rough and hoarse. And his throat was dry, lips chapped. The air felt heavy and stale. How long had he been out? It wasn't like Lucifer to let Gabriel sleep for so long or let him skip over meals – which was more of a convenience than anything, but it did help with Lucifer not having to spend as much grace sustaining Gabriel.

Wait— the cuffs…

Gabriel felt out the pieces of metal that were secured around his wrists. He could feel little patterns of indentions on them. He had no doubt that they were sigils of some sort. Was that why he couldn't feel Lucifer?

The boy was suddenly grateful of the humming presence of cool grace just underneath his skin that ironically kept him warm. He may not have been able to feel _Lucifer_ , but he could certainly feel the archangel's _grace_. That was something at least.

Gabriel swallowed hard.

He was alone, cuffed, and in a very dark, concrete room. The boy curled himself into a ball and hoped someone would come. And more than anything, he wished that Lucifer would answer his softly whispered prayers.

 **~o-O-o~**

Sam was at a loss.

Setting down the book he was trying (and failing) to read, Sam ran a hand through his hair. Conflict and turmoil stirred uneasily in his stomach. He let out a sigh and rested his head in his hands.

The boy was possessed by Lucifer. _Dammit._ They had no way to forcefully expel Lucifer from the kid by any outside manner, and they weren't even close to considering killing the kid with the archangel inside of him. Even Dean knew not to cross that line without Mary having to vehemently protest against it.

Then there was the way Mary had cradled the boy's bloodied head in her lap the whole ride back to the Bunker. Her motherly instinct had probably kicked in, and while it might not have been for Lucifer, it was directed at the boy who was housing Lucifer.

That was what bothered Sam the most. Why had the boy said yes to Lucifer? What had the Devil promised him?

Castiel walked into the room, and Sam was blessedly pulled away from his brooding. "Hey, Cas. What's up?"

"I think you should see this," the angel said solemnly.

Sam frowned as he followed Castiel out of the library. The Winchester noted that they were headed towards the dungeons – it was the only place the could keep Lucifer, decked out with wards and sigils that Rowena placed that acted specifically against Lucifer. She knew for a fact that these would work long term.

The sigils would keep Lucifer repressed, leaving him trapped in a comatose-like state unless he was taken out of the room. However, that meant that the boy had to stay in the dungeon as well, something Mary had not been fond of. And while Sam wasn't that happy about it either, it was probably the only thing keeping Lucifer from obliterating them all.

But… during that skirmish with Lucifer's illusion… Lucifer had been majoritarily on the defensive, only throwing his own punches as parries. Except for at the beginning – all the way up to when Lucifer had been behind Mary, and then the boy had said something. After that, it was like something had just switched.

And it was only when the boy had fallen into unconsciousness that Lucifer had finally taken over and looked ready to murder someone. But then Crowley – with impeccable accuracy – had taken a crowbar and bashed the kid's head with it.

Mary had been royally pissed, even after Crowley explained his reasoning that if Lucifer really did care for the boy as much as he was letting on, then the kid would be fine. Still, Mary had gently stroked the blood-matted hair, slowly working on washing the red sticky substance out the whole ride home. Sam couldn't blame her.

Castiel held up a hand in a gesture for Sam to stop. The angel held a finger to his lips right as Sam was about to ask why they were still outside the dungeon if Castiel wanted to show him something. Castiel then began to slowly reach up to touch Sam's temple with two fingers, hesitantly asking for permission with his blue eyes. At Sam's nod, Castiel place his fingers against the side of the human's head.

Sam's hearing immediately sharpened, and Castiel directed his attention to the faint mutterings of the boy. Sam frowned at what he was hearing. The boy was definitely _not_ speaking English… It almost sounded like—

"Is that Enochian?" Sam asked in a hushed voice.

Castiel nodded, letting his hand fall back to his side. "But he shouldn't even be able to understand the language, let alone speak it fluently," Castiel replied in the same quiet volume.

"He's speaking it fluently?" Sam was dumbfound. The kid had been with Lucifer— what? seven months max, and he was speaking the language of angels fluently? There was no way unless Lucifer was still awake and feeding the boy the words—

"Something's not right," Castiel said suddenly, cutting that train of thought off. "I can barely feel Lucifer in there, but there's this…" the angel trailed off, struggling to find the right word. "This other presence," he finally finished.

"The kid?"

Castiel frowned, glanced at the secret door and shook his head. "I don't know, but whatever _it_ is, it was there before the boy became Lucifer's vessel."

"What? So Lucifer picked out the kid because of it," Sam asked – concern, worry and a touch of fear building in his chest.

"I don't know, Sam," Castiel admitted with a soft sigh, his eyes trailing back to the direction the dungeon was. "I want to see if I can get any answers—"

"You can't go in there, Cas," Sam blurted out. "What if it's more dangerous than it's letting on to be?"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," the angel said determinedly.

While Sam and Dean had been able to break the angel from thinking that he was expendable, Castiel was still reckless at times – no matter how much Dean insisted on the angel being more careful because Dean wouldn't be able to live with Cas's death over his head. And Sam would keep telling Castiel no to this if he didn't also know that the angel would just go in anyways when Sam and Dean weren't around.

"Fine," Sam finally relented. "But I'm coming in there with you."

"Very well," Castiel grumbled, taking a step back as Sam opened the door.

The figure huddled in the middle of the floor flinched sharply at the flood of lights turning on. In the silence of the room, Sam could hear the boy's harsh breaths. For just a moment – the briefest of milliseconds – Sam saw a flicker of gold before the boy blinked his squinting eyes, and there was only a brown once more.

"H-hello?" the boy greeted hesitantly, letting out a short cough at the end.

Sam inwardly winced at the roughness of the young voice. He needed to consider bringing some water down here for the kid later. Technically there was a sink just down the hallway, but Sam didn't have a cup or anything on him…

"Sorry about the, uh, lack of accommodations," Sam started, moving into the room. "But we can't exactly keep you anywhere else because—"

"Of Lucifer?" the boy finished for Sam, intelligent eyes boring into the taller Winchester. "I know. I can feel the sigil things. They make the air heavy."

"You can feel them?" Castiel asked, taking up a spot on the other side of the room from Sam, and crossed his arms.

The boy's eyes flicked back and forth between the two before he slowly nodded. "You're Castiel," he said suddenly, pointing a finger at the angel and then moving to point it at Sam. "And you have to be Sam Winchester."

"You know us?" Sam inquired, straightening up at being recognized.

Again the boy nodded, eyes falling to the floor. "I've read the books... and Lucifer talks about you guys a lot."

"How long has he been possessing you?" As much as Sam wanted to let Castiel do as he had intended to do when they first walked in, Sam's curiosity was getting the better of him.

"Um, six and a half months," the boy answered. "There was a freak snowstorm over LA for a couple days after I said yes."

"Why did you do that?" Sam asked, a sorrow coloring his tone.

"You wouldn't understand," the boy said softly. "Not even he does."

"And you've been in control of your body the whole time?" Castiel asked before Sam could get in another question of his own.

The boy gave them a small shrug. "He only takes over when we have to move on to the next city, and he usually only does it when I'm not awake."

Castiel frowned but didn't go on with a new question, so Sam took up the mantle again. "What have you and Lucifer been doing in those six and a half months?" he asked the boy.

"We've kind of just been touring the country," he answered, fidgeting in his spot on the floor.

"Wait— so he's been taking you around the US, going from town to town… for fun?"

The boy nodded shyly. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Did he make you leave your home?" Castiel interjected suddenly.

Brown eyes met deep blue ones. "There was an accident…" the boy started slowly. "I knew Lucifer wouldn't be able to fix it, and so I told him we had to leave."

"You're the kid from that article with some teenager claiming to have been attacked by another boy with red eyes," Sam huffed in disbelief.

The boy winced at the statement but nodded. "Jake was bullying me, and Lucifer got ticked off," was all he said.

"Something's changed," Castiel observed. The boy only shrugged. "Has Lucifer gotten… protective?" The boy froze at the connotation. "Attached even?"

"Cas, what're you saying?" Sam asked, not following his friend's line of thought.

"Somehow the boy managed to form a slight bond with Lucifer, though it shouldn't be possible considering…" Castiel trailed off, falling deep into thought.

Brown eyes narrowed sharply at the angel. "It isn't like that," he snapped, anger making an abrupt appearance in the boy. "Lucifer just needed to find someone that was willing to help him change."

"And you somehow convinced him to do so," Castiel shot back, raising an eyebrow.

"All I did was give him a chance," the boy said heatedly, struggling to his feet. "All I _asked_ of him was that he try. I gave him a chance to be _different_ , and he took it."

" _You_ – a human child no less – _got_ _Lucifer_ – the Devil, Evil Incarnate – _to_ _change_ ," Castiel pointed out, slowly enunciating each phrase. "There have been many chances, as you put it, for him to change his ways over these last several years. And he had taken none of them. The willingness to help him would not change _that_."

Sam saw something flashed in those brown eyes, and suddenly the boy was up in Castiel's personal space, eyes glaring daggers at the angel. "What do you know about any of it?!" the boy shouted. "You only saw a glimpse of what he suffered through! Of what he lost! You can't possibly understand how it felt when He left!"

The boy was cut off when he staggered, swaying in place. Castiel grabbed the boy's upper arms to keep him upright as he passed out, and when Sam rushed over to see what was wrong, there was blood trickling down from the boy's nose.

"What the hell was that, Cas?" Sam demanded, concern pronounced in his tone.

The angel frowned, lifting the boy up to carry him bridal style as he made his way to the door. "I don't know," he admitted. "We'll figure out how to deal with Lucifer later, but the boy cannot stay in here."

 **~o-O-o~**

Dean sat down on his bed with a heavy sigh on his lips.

A kid, dammit. A _kid_. That asshole couldn't have at least picked an adult. Oh, but no, Lucifer was possessing a kid.

 _"Don't touch him!"_

 _"Gabriel!"_

Dean ran a shaky hand through his short hair. What the hell was wrong with him? Dean breathed in deeply through his nose, looking over at the clock on his nightstand. It was too damn late in the evening after pulling an all-nighter the other day to being be awake right now.

But Dean wasn't tired. Not in a way that would let him get any real sleep.

 _Red irises burned into his being._

 _"Let him go."_

Dean couldn't put his thoughts to rest. They swirled and collided and tumbled in endless cycles. Something didn't make sense. It was there, hidden away in the mess of thoughts but in plain view.

Dean let out a scoff. As if the Devil actually _cared_ —

"Son of a bitch."

The older Winchester brother found himself roaming the hallways of the Bunker. Where the hell did Sam go? And Cas for that matter…

His mom was in the kitchen, oddly enough. He had thought she would have been in her room. "Have you seen Sam?" he asked.

Mary turned to him, a slight frown passing over her features before it was smoothed away. "Uh, no… Not since, you know."

"Yeah," Dean muttered. Taking in the sad look on her face, Dean blinked as a thought occurred to him. "When did you figure it out?"

"Hmm?" Mary turned back around to continue making the coffee she'd been working on before he walked in.

"You knew as soon as Sam showed you that picture, didn't you?" Dean huffed, shaking his head. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I could have been wrong," she told him, pouring herself a cup and then one for Dean. "You know Lucifer more than I do. All I saw was that he cared for Gabriel."

Dean fiddled with the hot cup of coffee. "That's the kid's name?"

"Lucifer shouted it right before the illusion vanished that last time," she explained, leaning on the table with her own cup in hand as she fixed it to her liking. "Didn't you hear him?"

"No," Dean grumbled.

"Don't lie to me, Dean," Mary chided gently. Dean looked up into her warm eyes when she placed a hand over his. "Sam and Castiel were too far to hear him, but you were right behind him."

"It's just—" He let out a sigh, looking away. "It's the kid's name. It's too much of a coincidence."

"What is?" she asked softly, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Back during the Apocalypse, Gabriel – the archangel – stood up for us against his brother and got killed for it," Dean admitted, eyes distant as memories past flashed before him.

Mary set the cup down, worry etched on her face. "You think that there's a special reason Lucifer picked Gabriel to be his vessel?"

"I don't know," Dean told her. "But I do know something's not right about this whole thing. We're missing something big."

His mom reached over and took both of his hands into hers, rubbing the backs of his hands with her thumbs in soothing circles. "You'll figure it out," she said confidently. "One way or another, you will."

Dean ducked his head to hide a flush of heat that rose to his face. "Thanks, Mom."

She simply gave him a small smile. "Now go find your brother. You were looking for him, weren't you?" Mary said, and with one last rub of her thumb, she patted his hands in a silent sending off.

Dean nodded his thanks this time and pulled away, heading out the kitchen door. It didn't take long to find Sam... and Cas... and an unconscious Gabriel outside of the dungeon with all the special sigils Rowena put up, being carried bridal style in Cas's arms.

"Woah— wait— hey! What the hell are you guys—"

"No time to explain right now, Dean," Sam said breathlessly as they passed by.

Dean rolled his eyes and followed after them. It looked like they were headed to one of the guest rooms. Cas then took a sharp turn into his own room and set the unconscious boy down on his bed, placing a hand on the kid's chest and closing his eyes.

"Okay, _now_ do you want to tell me why he's unconscious _and_ has a nosebleed?" Dean asked, crossing his arms and barring the exit. They weren't escaping a much required explanation.

"We were—" Sam started before he cut himself off, looking away with a short glance to Cas when Dean raised an eyebrow.

"You were what?" he prompted.

Cas finished whatever he was doing with the kid – probably making sure he'd be okay. "We were getting answers," he said, daring Dean to argue against him with a hard stare.

"Uh huh, what happened," Dean pressed.

"The boy was angered by something I said, and he responded with words that were not his own," Cas elaborated. "I believe he was subconsciously channeling Lucifer's thoughts before he passed out."

Dean shifted his stance into something more passive. "You realize the kid's name is Gabriel, right?"

Sam looked at Dean in surprise. "His name's... How did you—"

"Lucifer," Dean said simply. "The kid's name was what he shouted right before Crowley nailed Gabriel in the head."

"He did?" Sam asked hesitantly, a sheepish look on his face.

"Yeah, and you would have known that if you asked the kid his name when you were 'getting answers'," Dean huffed, anger tinging his tone.

A muscle on Sam's face twitched slightly. "Well, I'm sorry it didn't come to mind when we were asking him about things like what Lucifer's been up to this whole time— something I thought you'd think was a priority."

"It is," Dean conceded with no small amount of heat, voice rising. "But have some decency, Sam!"

"You're one to talk," Sam shot back, verbally and physically rising to the challenge.

"Enough!" Castiel's voice rose over theirs as the angel put himself between the two. "The boy's name is of no consequence—"

"I beg to differ, _little brother_."

* * *

 **A/N: Um, sorry this is late..? I got a bit distracted and just straight up forgot to update this… Oops. I can't say it won't happen again either. It's just that school is getting busy with nine-weeks exams – plus I have a pre-fest concert coming up on _Thursday_ in band… Why world? But on the bright side, after this I have a whole free _week_ that is spring break! Ya'll are gonna get at least three chapters during then. If you don't, complain to me.**

Last edited: [May 5, 2018]

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 **Sekkiera:** Hmm... No, that was Luci right there at the end. Though I must say, I'm a little surprised that you thought it might have been Gabriel the archangel that was talking there.

 **monkeygirl77:** Lucifer would totally be able to contact Gabriel if Lucifer was outside of the room. Yes, Gabriel was praying to Luci. You'll get a bit more about the bond next chapter, and I need to make a note-to-self to mention it again later… I do try to keep these characters on point. Um, Gabriel Bennett is like the current reincarnation of a very old soul – I'm not sure how much else I can tell you without giving a certain thing away. But yeah, that was Luci at the end of chapter seven. And Gabriel's fine… for now. Protective Luci is so fun to write.


	8. Learning You Were Wrong

**Chapter 8**

 **Learning You Were Wrong**

Lucifer gradually broke the barrier of consciousness. His mind struggled to remember the last thing that happened as sensations sluggishly came back to him. He felt oddly heavy, that was for sure.

The most prominent thing that stuck out immediately was the harsh throbbing radiating along the side of his head. Maybe he had gotten shot in the head with the Colt again. It almost felt like it. Well... no, this wasn't as bad. That demon couldn't swing a crowbar worth—

Panic hit hard with the sudden flood of memories.

The Winchesters had finally found him. They always ruined everything. He needed to get Gabriel away from them. Now.

But he couldn't feel the boy. Where was he? Lucifer knew he was still inside of the boy – Gabriel was still acting as his vessel – but where was he? He couldn't feel the boy's soul. That beautiful oddity Lucifer had come to crave being near. Where–?

There! Curled tightly in itself, that spark Lucifer cared for was tucked away in the deep recesses of the boy's mind. That— that didn't make sense. Why was the boy so far from the realm of consciousness? It was as if Gabriel had locked himself away from everything else…

Throwing his gnawing worry to the side, Lucifer carefully moved his grace to wrap around the soul he'd become attached to. Lucifer blanketed the boy in all the comforts the archangel could give the human. His grace whispered soft, soothing nothings in an attempt to coax the soul into returning to a higher plane of consciousness. And Lucifer was left to hope that Gabriel would come back to him soon.

On to the next order of business: where were they? If Lucifer could get them away from the Winchesters, he might have a chance to keep the idiotic brothers from messing everything up – everything he had worked so hard to build with Gabriel.

His vessel was being carried somewhere. There were faint voices floating about, but he was still disconnected from the boy's hearing. Figures that the sense of feeling would be the only one working at the moment.

Lucifer turned his attention to the injury that had knocked him out in the first place. His grace had been steadily working on healing the head wound, but a pain still radiated from it. Lucifer was glad that the blow hadn't been hard enough to kill the boy if Lucifer wasn't cohabiting the boy's body. That would have been a bit trickier to heal without having to mess with technicalities.

Sure, Lucifer wouldn't have died from a crowbar to the head, but the boy would have technically been dead. Dead was dead. And dead meant having to deal with a reaper over where the soul would go once Lucifer released it from the body – something Lucifer didn't plan to do at all. He'd admit himself to being a possessive bastard that did whatever the hell he wanted to. Besides, Gabriel's soul would probably be 'recycled' again. The boy's soul was in far better care than any reaper could give it.

"—getting answers—"

Lucifer perked up at the two words, faint as they were. Finally, some reception… Too bad Lucifer didn't have any context to guess what answers the words were referring to, though it probably had something to do with him.

"—sorry—...come to mind—...asking him about—...up to—...was a priority—"

With an inward, frustrated huff, Lucifer focused on trying to hear the rest of the conversation, or argument as it was starting to sound like.

"—have some decency, Sam!"

So that was Dean… Lucifer briefly wondered what exactly Sam had done, but no matter. If he could finally hear what they were saying, he should also be able to move, right? His hand twitched marginally.

Lucifer let out another inward huff. This is what happened with slowly healing head wounds. Control was limited until it was finished healing.

Gingerly, Lucifer pulled some of his grace away from the blanket around the boy's soul and put it to the task of hurrying up the healing process. The effect was immediate.

Holding back a groan, Lucifer squinted at the bright light that attacked his eyes. He was able to properly flex his fingers this time. The archangel got himself sitting up right without the room swirling too much.

"Enough!" Oh, so Castiel was there, too? Then again, that would make sense. The little angel had been there with the Winchesters earlier. Lucifer's eyes narrowed sharply at Castiel's next intended statement: "The boy's name is of no consequence—"

"I beg to differ, _little brother_ ," he interjected coldly.

Gabriel was of _every_ consequence. The boy was quite literally the center of Lucifer's world (and the boy had been for the past six or so months), and the archangel wasn't able to deny the fact. He had come to terms with it early on and decided he didn't care.

A flash of amusement ran through Lucifer as the two humans and the angel froze, comically turning to look at the awoken archangel in a mix of terror, shock and surprise. It was nice to know that they were still wary of him.

"Now," Lucifer said slowly, drawing out the word with a bit of dramatic flare. "Who's going to convince me not to paint the walls with your blood?"

Lucifer was rightfully pissed. It may not have been completely manifested as a pure emotion to act on just yet, but the fury was there. Okay, so maybe Lucifer wouldn't be making a canvas of the concrete walls. After all, Gabriel wouldn't be very happy if Lucifer was involved in a blood bath. Still, the idea was looking rather prospective at the moment.

"You're not in a position to do anything right now," Dean stated from where he stood in the doorway.

Lucifer's eyes predatorily rolled over to him. "What makes you say that, hmm?"

"Those cuffs around your wrists are upgrades of the last ones," the older hunter said casually. "I'd like to see you get out of those without a key."

Lucifer glanced down at said accessories, lifting a wrist up to inspect them. The metal was just a steel alloy of iron, silver and carbon. Lucifer's biggest problem came from the little sigils etched into the sides. At a closer glance, he saw that they affected his grace being used for outward purposes. Well, that explained why he couldn't use the illusion after the first cuff was placed but could still use his grace to heal himself.

"Fancy," he commented, still looking over the individual sigils. "Give me another couple minutes, and you can pay up."

Whatever Dean had been about to say next was overcast by a slight stirring. Lucifer tuned out the Winchester to look inwardly at the delicate soul wrapped in his grace. An unspoken question was asked by the soul, and Lucifer sent back a soft reassurance.

"Hey!"

"What?" Lucifer snapped, irises flashing red for a second before the archangel reigned his anger back in.

As he refocused back on the other occupants of the room, he noted that Sam had taken an involuntary step back and that Castiel and Dean were eyeing him warily. At least they weren't overconfident enough to be stupid and arrogant about where they stood, even with the cuffs on Lucifer's wrists. That would have just pissed the archangel off even more.

"We could always put you back in the dungeon," Dean told him. "I bet you wouldn't _fancy_ getting put under again."

 _Getting put under..?_ Lucifer caught the glare Castiel sent Dean's way as well as the concerned glance Sam shot Castiel.

" _You wouldn't wake up…_ "

Relief flooded through Lucifer's being at the sound of the voice, tired as it may have been. The boy was okay. He would be fine.

"If you want to keep your tongue, I suggest you shut your traps!" Lucifer hissed when the others in the room began talking over Gabriel – not that they could hear the boy, but that wasn't the point.

" _It's okay, Lucifer,_ " the boy told him placatingly. " _They're worrying for the right reasons... They just have not-so-great ways of keeping those fears from happening._ "

"And that gives them the right to keep us here," Lucifer muttered, sarcasm not being hindered by how soft spoken his retort was.

He smirked at the way the humans looked him like he was crazy, talking to himself. Castiel knew though. Sam should have too, but it could have been that the younger Winchester had forgotten that Lucifer liked to talk to his vessels, which sometimes included aloud.

" _Not really, but it doesn't mean they're wrong. Hear them out… please,_ " Gabriel added, knowing that Lucifer would attempt to do as he asked, even if his request made the archangel question the boy's sanity.

"Fine," Lucifer ground out. He then turned his attention to Sam, Dean and Castiel. "Now, you were saying?" he addressed them in a forcefully sweet tone.

"It'd be great if you didn't cause any trouble until we figure out what to do with you," Dean piped up in answer.

Lucifer raised an eyebrow at the underhanded insult. Gabriel was quick to speak before Lucifer could retort something nasty. " _He has a point. If you want to get us out of here faster, try to be nice._ "

"Take off the cuffs, and I'll be a good little archangel," Lucifer tested.

"Yeah, right," Sam scoffed.

Lucifer turned his gaze to his true vessel, bringing up a hand to place over his heart in mock hurt. "I'm offended you don't believe me, Sam. After all we've been through…"

"Belief requires trust," the human shot back. "And I trust you about as far as I can throw you."

"Look how well that turned out for you," Lucifer muttered with a roll of his eyes.

" _Not helping, Lucifer,_ " Gabriel sighed exasperatedly. " _It's like you want them to stab you with that blade Castiel's fingering._ "

Blade..? Now that he knew about it, Lucifer located the blade within milliseconds. Castiel did indeed have an angel blade in his right hand. But Gabriel neglected to mention that it was the same one Dean had tried to kill him with by the river. What truly bothered Lucifer, however, was that the blade was the archangel Gabriel's blade. The one that had been left in that forsaken hotel.

"Plan on killing me with Gabriel's blade, Castiel?" Lucifer inquired with an air of nonchalance. "You realize you'll kill the boy too if you do."

That was technically a lie (an archangel's blade could only kill an archangel if it was being wielded by another archangel), but it was clear that _they_ didn't know that. The frown on the angel's face only deepened, and Sam and Dean exchanged a look. "If you force my hand, then I will," came Castiel's solemn reply.

Lucifer cracked a smile and splayed his hands as far apart as he could until the chain between the cuffs snapped taut, halting his arms' movement. "Again, I'm hurt," Lucifer said. "Even after all the fun we had together, you'd raise a rather lethal weapon against me."

" _Lucifer_ ," the boy's voice came warningly. He must have been able to sense Lucifer's dismissive assessment of the blade's presence.

The archangel briefly huffed in response. "They're all so judgmental," he mused.

" _You're not exactly giving them the best actions to go by._ " Lucifer didn't need a visual to see the boy's eye roll. " _I'm feeling better now. I can take over._ "

"Are you sure?" Lucifer muttered just under his breath. "I'd rather you not get stabbed by these buffoons."

" _Then maybe you shouldn't have insulted them._ "

"They started it," he grumbled, eyeing the weird looks they were giving him again.

Dean let out a scoff. "You're the one who threw that fancy comment first."

"And you're the one that—"

Lucifer was cut off as the jarring feeling of getting shoved out of the way hit him like a bag of bricks. The archangel mentally spat a rather vivid profanity as he realized what Gabriel did. The boy had learned early on how to forcefully take back control, though neither of them liked it and came to a truce not long after the first couple incidents.

That being said, Lucifer was not happy about the sudden relocation to the 'passenger seat'. But the removal from the 'driver's seat' was fair, and Lucifer grudgingly reclined in the chair within the little corner of Gabriel's mind that he held claim over. If the Winchesters did anything to threaten the boy, there weren't any promises keeping Lucifer from taking control again.

 **~o-O-o~**

Gabriel's body jerked slightly its rightful owner took back control. A hand snapped out to connect with the mattress of the bed so that he wouldn't fall over, and Gabriel winced at the swirling torrent of grace, soul, thoughts and emotions shifting to reorganize according to the current 'driver' if the boy went on with Lucifer's car analogy.

Gabriel took a minute to gather himself, rubbing his face tiredly – the chains clinking with the movement. "I'm sorry. H-he gets snappish when you start to accuse him of things."

An indignant huff came from the aforementioned being.

"Yeah," Sam said slowly, gauging how he should go along with the abrupt switch. "We've had some experience with that."

"I know," Gabriel stated, moving to sit cross-legged on the bed and settling his hands in his lap. "But you won't get an apology from him— not a heartfelt one anyway. It's a rare thing in his nature, so I'm apologizing for him."

"You don't have to do that," Castiel spoke up from where he stood a few feet away on Gabriel's left side.

Gabriel looked over at him with a thoughtful expression. He was silent for a minute but then responded: "We learn by example, by direct experience, by the influence of those around us. Through our own mistakes or the failures of others, we still learn. Change is an inevitable but sometimes long and arduous process."

"Looks like we picked up a little Buddha," a new voice claimed cheerfully. Dean Winchester, Gabriel registered without Lucifer having to tell him. The archangel had told the boy enough about all three of Team Free Will to know them just by looking at them. "Again, something you neglected to mention, Sam."

Gabriel stared at the glass of water the older man was holding out to him. Not completely steady hands reached up to take the cup, and calloused, warm ones supported them until just after Gabriel nodded his thanks and took a sip. The rejuvenating liquid washed away the dryness of his mouth and the odd taste of dust.

"Yeah, my little brother gets a little carried away sometimes and forgets to take care of people," Dean told him with a conspiratorial glance Sam's way. "Don't let him fool you, though. He's a big softie— just use the puppy eyes on him."

A small smile twitched its way onto Gabriel's face at Dean's wink, and the man stepped back, taking his place at the doorway again. The smile only grew at Sam's affronted look. The faint grumblings in the back of Gabriel's mind wouldn't be enough to make the smile go away.

"So, uh, I'm Gabriel," the boy said awkwardly. "Gabriel Bennett."

"That's Sammy, resident nerd," Dean 'formally' introduced, pointing at his brother. "Over there is Cas, our awesome angel friend." The pointing finger shifted to be directed at the trench coat wearing angel. "And I'm Dean, the coolest one here," he finished, crossing his arms back over his chest. "Oh, and uh, the lady you saw the other day is me and Sam's mom."

Gabriel blinked. "No way… B-but she died like when _he_ was baby," Gabriel sputtered with a slight gesture to Sam for emphasis.

Sam leaned over to whisper something in Dean's ear, and Dean's eyebrows raised a whole inch. The older brother made a face that was just kind of like 'oh', and he muttered a "right, that's great".

"Well, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself since you know us so well," Sam suggested, sitting down in a chair next to a desk Gabriel was now noticing. To be honest, there were several things in the room that he was now noticing.

 _Where do I even start?_ the boy thought nervously.

" _You could start at the beginning. That's always a great place,_ " Lucifer inputted.

Gabriel refrained from rolling his eyes. _Thank you, for your oh-so-wise advice, great Morning Star._ "Um, I turned thirteen a couple months ago. My dad died when I was eight. I have a little sister who's four to five years younger than me, depending on the time of year. Mom works a lot, and she was never around the house that often… Uh, I said yes to Lucifer about six and a half months ago. The first place we went to after we had to leave LA was the town my cousin lives in…"

 **~o-O-o~**

Mary silently listened as the boy— Gabriel listed off random facts about himself. When Dean had hurriedly walked into the kitchen for a glass of water, she had gotten a brief "he's awake" before he rushed back out, and she quietly followed behind him. The boy was sweet, kindhearted, mindful. She still found it hard to believe he was possessed by Lucifer.

She could hear a tiredness in the boy's voice, and it saddened Mary to hear it. The soft undertone shouldn't have been in one so young. But something told her – perhaps it was actually the sound of his voice – that he was far older in spirit than body. In a way, the notion fit.

Gabriel was very childlike (and for being a young teenager, that was to be expected), but he had these moments of a matureness some adults couldn't obtain in their lifetime. The moments held a strange note a sadness to them as well as the wisdom of an enlightened being. And then it faded back into his innocent, sometimes juvenile mirth.

In the end, no, Mary could not say that this child sounded like he was possessed by the Devil, let alone anything else. However, she would have to admit that there was something off about Gabriel. And maybe it was because he was acting as a vessel for Lucifer, or maybe not.

Mary just knew that Gabriel was of sound mind and – just as she could tell Lucifer cared for the boy – that the boy also cared for Lucifer. The fact made her doubt some of what Sam, Dean and Castiel told her about the archangel. Not everything, but just some of the finer details.

She trusted her boys. They wouldn't be wrong about something as big as this. But maybe – just maybe, they weren't right either. Gabriel had been mentioning something about change right before Dean had walked into the room. And that lead to the question: had Lucifer changed like the boy was suggesting?

Mary couldn't find it in herself to say that such a thing was impossible. Implausible, hard to believe – most definitely. But still possible.

So, had they been wrong to assume that Lucifer had to be dealt with as soon as Sam found the picture? Perhaps, but they hadn't known that Lucifer might have changed. Were they wrong to lock the boy away to keep Lucifer under control? Again, they hadn't known (and still didn't know) all of the facts.

It left them with an incomplete moral dilemma. One that was starting to sort itself out on its own. They wouldn't have to face a hard choice – not about this. And at the center of it all, there was a human boy. There was Gabriel.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, since my exams are over and the concert went well, I'm posting this a day earlier than expected. You're welcome.**

Last edited: [May 24, 2018]

* * *

 **Broken Twisted Lullabies:** I know what you mean – real life just hits you in the face sometimes. I love writing Gabe and Luci (especially this version of him). Things aren't looking too good for our favorite Devil with _Something Between Heaven and Hell_ an' all, and while I'm not the biggest fan of the Nephilim subplot going on, I can't help but wonder what kind of dad Lucifer would be like, you know? Like, would he be a bit of a dictator or would he be more like this protective variation? Anyways, everyone is getting so close to the big secret (can I even call it that anymore, lol) about Gabriel.


	9. Ever Just the Same

**Chapter 9**

 **Ever Just the Same**

"I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it. Just try it," Gabriel groaned exasperatedly.

"That's what you said the last time you made me try something I hated."

"And I never made you eat another pepper again," Gabriel pointed out. "Come on, just one bite."

A frustrated sound escaped the throat of Lucifer's illusion. "This has to be some form of payback. I don't know what for, but it is," he declared.

"Lucifer—"

"Even the name of it is weird," the archangel went on. "What kind of name is 'moose tracks'?"

Gabriel glared at him. "It's _ice cream_ , Lucifer. Try it."

"But I already know what it tastes like. You have plenty of memories and past experiences for me to get along just fine without your poor job of an intervention."

This was what Mary walked in to.

After a tense night during which neither Sam nor Dean were able to sleep properly (Castiel didn't need to sleep at all and had let Gabriel rest in his room for the night), Mary had awoken to find her sons in deep discussion with the angel at one of the tables in the library. And so, Mary wandered off to go make coffee. The short walk to the kitchen had been silent even in her thoughts, but then the softly spoken voices – sometimes rising into a stage whisper – came to her ears, the conspiratorial conversation in the kitchen floating along the hallways.

The sight before Mary, had she not been stilled with the shock of it to register this, was actually quite amusing.

Gabriel stood at the side of one of the metal tables. Lucifer – the illusion of him, her brain remembered – sat backwards in his chair across from the boy. Between them sat a bowl, filled with one or two scoops the offending dessert.

Standing in the entryway, Mary took this time to observe the two as they were unaware of her presence.

Gabriel, as she had noticed the other day, was on the small side for one his age, but she knew that his muscles were more lean than buff. And the boy wasn't necessarily short but he was just under average height, standing at a good five feet. Fair hair, now washed clean of the dried blood, lightly fell across his brow, tucking away behind either ear. His brown eyes gleamed brilliantly even with the haze of irritation fogging them slightly.

The t-shirt he wore was striped with light gray, navy blue and teal green horizontal lines and had a matching blue breast pocket. The shirt was covered by a simple, dark maroon and black jacket. The boy's blue jeans and tennis shoes completed the outfit.

He was a young, teenage boy, and Gabriel easily fit in as one of the more innocent yet intelligent ones.

Then there was Lucifer. Mary wasn't sure what to make of him. She couldn't help the shiver that went down her spine at the fact that this was _Satan_ she was looking at. At first glance, he seemed like any other human being, albeit a touch odd with the way he apparently couldn't sit in a chair properly. The dark shirt with an even darker jacket over it along with the jeans he had on were casual with a splash of elegance. He looked so ordinary.

But there was this air about him that just screamed his supernatural presence. There were signs, too: the slightly colder temperature of the room, the humming of power, the weight of something else that sat in the air itself. It all set off an underlining, instinctual fear that told her to run, that this 'man' was beyond dangerous. A wolf among sheep. The snake in the grass.

And yet, that fear was off-put by his interactions with Gabriel. It was the way Lucifer held his own childish manner. The way he continued to draw out the 'intervention' simply to be the center of the boy's attention. The way he always kept the boy in his line of sight as Gabriel moved about the kitchen, putting away little, nonessential things. The way she knew Lucifer cared about the boy.

It broke the tension and the fear that this great and powerful being was only a monster that had every intention of destroying the world. It took away the validity of the prejudiced assumptions of him she had made. It gave him depth and emotions and made him that much more human.

But let it never slip her mind that Lucifer was still the most powerful being she had ever met so far.

Something alerted Gabriel to her presence – presumably Lucifer due to how he didn't even bother to turn around to look at her. The boy gave her a small smile, his eyes lighting up. "Finally! Will you help me convince Lucifer that ice cream is awesome and that he should totally try it?"

"I can't say I've tried that flavor yet," she said, stepping into the room. "But I think you should give it a try, Lucifer. You might like it."

The archangel let out a huff. "You're all against me," he muttered.

"Well, to put it in another perspective, this is the first time _you_ will have tried it," Mary pointed out. "Ice cream is something everyone has had as a kid, and I think it's only fair you get to at least have a bite before you say you don't want to ever have this treat again."

"Bullies, the lot of you," Lucifer grumbled, picking up the spoon.

Mary smiled at Gabriel's eye roll. She walked over to the coffee machine and began to make the coffee she had planned on having since she woke up. The boy let out a soft chuckle, and Mary turned around to see what had him so amused. It shouldn't have surprised her that Gabriel was laughing at Lucifer's awed and blissful facial expression.

Turning back to her brewing coffee, Mary let a fond smile grow on her face. She was glad that her sons had been convinced to take off the cuffs. The minute detail would have easily broken this picture of innocence. Maybe, with time, her boys and Castiel would warm up to Lucifer as they had Gabriel.

 **~o-O-o~**

Dean was sitting down at one of the library's tables, combing through a book about Enochian. Sam had pulled the book from off some shelf, set it down in front of him and told Dean to read it after he and Cas mentioned the kid mumbling things in the language of angels. Because being able to read Enochian and sort of speak it was very different from holding a full conversation with it, which apparently Gabriel might do at some point – though Dean failed to fully understand the importance of that little fact.

Dean wasn't sure why Gabriel might have a conversation with someone in Enochian and not English, but he would have just chalked it up to Lucifer if Cas hadn't also added that they'd heard Gabriel speaking Enochian in the dungeon… Okay, so maybe the kid learned a couple phrases or something while he had been on that road trip with Lucifer. Cas had shot that one down due to Gabriel's fluency with the language that a human wouldn't have been able to learn in six months.

At that point Dean had to acknowledge that Gabriel speaking Enochian was more than just a little weird, especially when he had to take Lucifer out of the equation. Then it just got concerning because Dean didn't know how to rationalize Gabriel knowing Enochian that well. That nosebleed the kid had wasn't helping either.

Look, fact was – Dean liked Gabriel. He saw a bit of Sam in the kid… as well as a bit of himself. And that's not even taking in the similarities to a _certain other_ the kid had that Dean had noticed. Gabriel left home just like his dad, and the kid had a thing for sweets – specifically chocolate. Not that Dean was saying he also liked the archangel-turned-trickster, but that Gabriel _had_ stood up to his brother for them… well, humanity anyway. So if this Gabriel was kind of like that Gabriel (in all the good ways), then maybe it wasn't so bad to compare the two.

 _Speak of the devil…_ Dean looked up at the boy hovering in the entryway. "What?"

Brown eyes flickered away from Dean's gaze, shooting off to look at books or whatever else was on the other side of the room. "Mary gave me a little tour and then went to go make lunch, so I just… kind of… wandered here," the kid finished lamely.

Dean continued to stare at Gabriel for a full minute before he gestured for the kid to look around with a simple order to not touch anything unless Dean said it was okay to. Gabriel only nodded once and was then taken away with perusing the shelves, which left Dean to get back to the Enochian book. But try as he might, Dean couldn't keep his eyes off of the kid.

He really couldn't help himself. It was a question he had wanted to ask the archangel Gabriel since the TV Land thing, but after the hotel… "Did you ever try to go back home?"

The kid stiffened. He didn't turn around, so Dean couldn't see his expression but he definitely heard the bitter hurt in the Gabriel's voice – so much like the archangel. Dean didn't know why the others hadn't picked up the little similarities.

"Once… but then I remembered why I left in the first place."

"It hurts, doesn't it," Dean mused in observation. "You hate that you had to leave."

Gabriel shrugged. "Of course. I might never get to see my little sister again… But don't get me wrong. I don't hate Lucifer for it."

"I didn't say you should," Dean responded a touch defensively. "It was just something I have some experience with."

"Leaving?" Gabriel huffed. "I think Sam can relate a bit more, but I'm sure you have your own moments."

Dean narrowed his eyes at the kid's back. "You ever ask Lucifer about… you know, the archangel Gabriel?"

The kid let out a small laugh, finally turning. There was an oddly familiar twinkle in his eye. "I didn't have to ask him. I've read the books, Dean."

Right… Dean forgot about that. The little twerp had gotten his hands on all of the _Supernatural_ books at some point. Of course the kid would have known about Gabriel and his stint as the Trickster as well as Loki. But, wait, if the kid had read the books then— "Why?"

"Why what, Dean?" Gabriel asked, turning back to the bookshelf. "You're going to have to be a bit more specific."

Dean closed the book, narrowing his eyes at the kid's back again. "You've read the books, so you must have known what saying yes to Lucifer meant. Why?"

Once more, Gabriel shrugged. "I just know that the result wasn't a bad one."

"Even if you had to leave home?"

Gabriel let out a sigh. "Dean, my dad left because of a decision he made a long time ago, and he's never coming back. It was inevitable. What wasn't inevitable was when and how he would leave. It was my decision to leave home. That way it would be on my terms and not some supernatural creature's or hunter's."

"But—" Dean could understand the kid leaving. He just didn't get why Gabriel said yes.

"I can't explain why," Gabriel interrupted him, answering Dean's thought like the kid was reading his mind, which was a little disturbing. "I don't think I'll ever be able to… It was just… a feeling."

Dean couldn't come up with any way to respond to that, so he just opened his book back up and started reading again. A silence fell between the two – it wasn't an awkward one but it was still very quiet aside from the occasional crinkle of pages and the soft tred of a step.

"You guys have an original copy of _The Hobbit_?"

Dean's eyes snapped up at Gabriel's awed voice. The kid was reaching out to the spine of some book – _The Hobbit_ , Dean assumed. The older Winchester brother wasn't entirely sure when _The Hobbit_ was first published, but if there was an original copy here, then it must have been before 1958, which meant there might be a _Lord of the Rings_ set too.

Dean got up, leaving the Enochian book on the table, and walked over to where Gabriel was. Sure enough, there was J.R.R. Tolkien's _The Hobbit_ , and right next to it were _The Fellowship of the Ring_ , _The Two Towers_ , and _The Return of the King_. Dean pursed his lips in thought.

"I have all the movies, too…" he commented, hinting at an underlying suggestion.

"Can we watch them sometime?" Gabriel asked, excitement lacing his voice.

"I don't see why not," Dean said with a small smile growing on his face. "You're thirteen, aren't you?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes but nodded. "Sometime next week, then? I want to read the books first."

Before Dean could say anything, the kid picked _The Hobbit_ off the shelf and dashed off – probably to Cas's room since they hadn't gotten the kid a room yet. Dean shook his head, sighing, though a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. _That kid…_

If Lucifer hadn't somehow put all the pieces together by now, Dean was going to laugh his ass off when it finally hit the archangel.

 **~o-O-o~**

Castiel had been simply wandering the hallways of the Bunker when he heard him. It was a habit the angel had started to pick up since Mary had moved into the Bunker. The angel didn't need to sleep, and so when the rest of the Bunker's inhabitants fell to the human need, Castiel was left to himself.

It had first started out as just a means to entertain himself with, as plain and thoughtless as it was. But that thoughtlessness had left him with a clear mind to think more often than not. It was also how he had overheard Gabriel mumbling to himself in Enochian in the first place. And now, it was how Castiel overheard Gabriel talking to himself in English. Only after a minute did Castiel realize Gabriel was reading from a book.

"Well of course Bilbo got the riddle. Otherwise there wouldn't be anymore chapters…"

Castiel frowned at the sudden deviation from book text to actual conversation. Had Lucifer interrupted Gabriel's reading? The boy's next words certainly made it seem that way.

"I really don't see why you're complaining. You're the one who insisted I read it aloud… Of course I already know what happens. I've read the book before, _and_ I've seen the movies— _which_ are all epic by the way…"

Castiel felt a small smile twitch at the corners of his lips. Gabriel was talking over Lucifer, just a little detail that was amusing in its own right. It was something that added on to the fact that Lucifer actually listened to the boy. That realization had thrown Castiel off for a while until he was able to mull it over.

The angel figured that it all related back to the boy's soul. There was just something… different about it. Castiel wasn't able to place it quite yet, but the pieces were starting to fall into place. He only needed one or two important ones before it would all make sense—

"Lucifer, what's going to happen to us?"

Castiel's attention snapped back to Gabriel's side of the conversation. Even Sam and Dean hadn't been able to agree on what to do with the boy and the archangel residing within him. The closest the three of them had gotten to was to simply watch Gabriel for now.

"I know, I know— It's just that I'd rather not have to stay in an underground bunker for the rest of my life…" Gabriel let out a snort of laughter. "No, I don't actually think they'll keep _me_ here forever. Sam, Dean, Mary and Cas are all good people…"

Castiel frowned at that. While it was somewhat comforting to hear such words of confidence from a practical stranger, that same reason was also disconcerting. Did Gabriel truly believe in that statement? If so, what was it that cause the note of agitation in the boy's tone?

The boy knew something. Something that he wasn't letting anyone else in on – not even Lucifer. But just what was that something?

Castiel reached out with his grace, isolating the feeling of the boy's soul next to Lucifer's grace and 'looking' at it long and hard. It was a bright soul for a thirteen-year-old, Castiel noted. Other than that, however, there was nothing out of the ordinary… Well, no, that wasn't exactly true. There was this… _What was that?_

Layers… Layers upon layers of _soul_. How was that even possible? Sure, Castiel knew about reused souls, which could accumulate one or two tiers of depth according to how many times the soul was reincarnated, but reused souls were never reused more than twice by strict decree from Michael himself.

Multiple reuses of a soul caused corruption and decay of the original being. That was fact. It was also fact that when the corruption set in, the soul often either faded into nothing or became a monster that would be sent to Purgatory. So then why was Castiel seeing at least ten different layers of the boy's soul? It probably had to do with why Castiel couldn't see the original soul.

Gabriel was reading from the book once more. The boy would occasionally pause when Lucifer commented on something, Gabriel responding with his own remark before going back to reading. It was all very… docile, Castiel thought with careful observance.

A small thought wormed its way into Castiel's conscience. It was becoming clear that Gabriel was influencing Lucifer's behavior. What if Lucifer wasn't… _bad_ anymore? Was that truly even possible for Satan?

Castiel wasn't so ignorant to think that one could only ever be either good or evil. He understood that there were instances in anyone's life that could push one to a side or back to the other – all across a very thin line. And then there was the perspective of good and evil. If one thought he or she was doing the right thing, he or she would think that what they were doing was good, which made that line all the more blurred.

The question was no longer if Lucifer had changed or even if Lucifer was 'good', but simply what Lucifer was going to do now.

Almost seven months ago, while still possessing Vince Vicente, Lucifer had admitted to Sam, Dean and Castiel that he didn't have a plan, that he was just having fun. Something had changed in Lucifer since meeting Gabriel, and then somewhere along the way to here, the two had formed a bond. A bond that both were subconsciously (though that could be argued to be consciously in Lucifer's case) very protective of.

The bond itself was an anomaly. Bonds typically formed between and amongst angels through their grace. While some bonds were stronger than others and allowed for greater things, most were really nothing more than a heightened level of kinsmenship and brotherhood/sisterhood. A bond could be allowed to flourish between individuals or just faded from lack of use over time. That being said, forcefully destroying a bond was reserved for only the very extreme cases that warranted the action.

And that brought Castiel back to the bond between Gabriel and Lucifer. Ignoring the fact that the bond shouldn't even have been able to exist, breaking it now would not go well. There was no telling how either would react to the disconnect, but Castiel knew that Lucifer most definitely retaliate if something like that was tried.

With a thoughtful frown on his face, Castiel listened to Gabriel sigh exasperatedly due to something Lucifer said and reply back about how, no, he didn't think that Sam would mind letting him get the information for the Wi-Fi. Castiel shook his head at that. For now, the angel would leave the two be.

 **~o-O-o~**

Sam didn't mean to intrude on the delicate scene he had more or less stumbled into. Technically, they shouldn't have even been there. It was _his_ room after all. This wasn't the first time Lucifer had occupied Sam's room though. Still, the younger Winchester would have thought Gabriel had left for his own provided room earlier. The kid must have fallen asleep if the scene was anything to go by. Now that Sam thought about it, it was pretty late.

Sam wasn't all that bothered by Gabriel accidentally falling asleep in his room. He had to admit, the boy was easy to get along with – a bit soft spoken but smart, kind and funny. Plus, he knew enough references to understand Dean, maybe not all of them but definitely some of the newer ones. In all, Gabriel was worming his way into all of their hearts.

So it wasn't the boy that Sam was bothered by in the scene he walked in on. It was Lucifer that Sam had the _slight_ issue with. The illusion of the archangel was sitting up against the headrest of the bed next to the fast asleep Gabriel, carding lazy fingers through the curls of the boy's hair.

Out of the whole time that Gabriel and Lucifer had been in the Bunker, Sam had really only interacted with Lucifer that one time before Gabriel took over. After that, the longest conversation held between Sam and Gabriel had been about the Wi-Fi in the Bunker, the kid's curiosity of how big the Bunker was, and whatever Sam might consider to be 'the coolest thing here'.

"He wouldn't wake up even if you dropped a bomb on the place," Lucifer spoke up out of nowhere, causing Sam to jump slightly. Amused blue eyes met with hazel ones. "He's a bit of a deep sleeper."

Sam only gave a small nod at the minute information. What was Lucifer up to?

The archangel suddenly let out a snort. "I'm not up to anything, Sam."

"You can't expect me to believe that."

Lucifer let out a soft sigh, a cynical smile playing on his lips. "No, but have some decency," he said, predatory eyes stalking its prey's every movement.

Sam held back a flinch at the words that Lucifer no doubt pulled from Dean. "Why Gabriel? Why possess a kid?"

"I wasn't planning on it, Sam," Lucifer admonished lightly, glancing down at their topic. "He was the one that consented without me even asking."

"A kid, Lucifer," he iterated.

Lucifer's head cocked to the side, an eyebrow raising. "I don't exactly see you offering to take his place. Besides, you're last decade's fashion, Sammy."

"Don't call me that." Sam scowled at the smirk on Lucifer's face. "You finding Gabriel couldn't have just been a happy accident…"

"I agree. An insignificant home in Los Angeles managed to catch my eye. I know when I've been drawn to something."

"You were drawn to him? By who?"

"Whom," Lucifer corrected, continuing over Sam's huff. "And who do you know that's known for having cosmic plans?"

"Chuck?" he asked his answer incredulously.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Well, duh. Dad loves to subtly mess around with little things."

Sam frowned, mulling over the information. In Sam's opinion, Gabriel was not a 'little thing'. The boy was obviously doing more than the archangel was letting on, especially with the not butthurt way Lucifer was alluding to God with. That had certainly been an… issue during their confrontation seven months back.

"Sam," Lucifer started slowly, drawing Sam's attention. "I—" the archangel stopped, huffing out a bitter laugh and shaking his head before looking back at Sam. "I lost everything, Sam. I just want to be able to hold on to something- hold on to this. I killed my little brother. I can't lose Gabriel, too."

* * *

 **A/N: Dudes! Longest chapter yet! I feel so accomplished for this story.**

Last edited: [May 24, 2018]

* * *

 **Broken Twisted Lullabies:** So I was settling down for a nice winter's night nap (not really, it was only like 10:05-ish at night) when all of a sudden I get a review for _Be My Guest_! Like I said in _Light of Dawn_ , Lucifer is BAMF archangel half the time and a 5-year-old child the other half (proportions may vary due to certain events). And I did a research paper on J.R.R. Tolkien (though anyone could just look this up on Google), _The Hobbit_ really could have been in the Bunker. _The Hobbit_ was first published in 1937, and the _Lord of the Rings_ set all came out by 1955. And since those dates are all before 1958 (when the MoL in America got wiped out by Abaddon), so it's completely plausible. Plus it was a good excuse for some bonding time between Gabriel and Dean (i.e. movie marathon).

As for how TFW+Mary is treating Gabriel, I just feel like Dean and Mary are a bit more obvious with it - Gabriel is a thirteen-year-old kid, and taking care of a young boy (read as: little brother/son, respectively) is familiar territory for them. Sam is a bit harder. He's gotten to the point of accepting Gabriel, but not necessarily Lucifer (until the beginning of the next chapter, where he's started that journey). Cas on the other hand... I'm not really sure what's going through his head half the time. I feel like he should have been a bit more hateful(?) of Lucifer early on, but at this point it just fits that he would be helping his big bro... ( _*ahem* both of them_ ).

So how close were you to figuring it out? I bet you overthought it.


	10. Ever a Surprise

**Chapter 10**

 **Ever a Surprise**

 _"I lost everything, Sam. I just want to be able to hold on to something— hold on to this. I killed my little brother. I can't lose Gabriel, too."_

Lucifer held his breath as he waited for Sam to respond. He didn't expect for his true vessel to answer immediately. He hadn't even expected himself to admit the words. But it was out there now, and Lucifer hesitantly anticipated whatever would come from Sam's mouth.

Silence. It was starting to itch on Lucifer, weighing him down. Why wasn't Sam saying anything? Lucifer had just confessed to him something rather deep. That should elicit something, shouldn't it? Surely it wasn't that stunning—

"Okay."

The archangel stared at his true vessel. That was it? "Okay..?" Lucifer repeated, a touch dubious.

Sam nodded, letting out a scoffing huff of a laugh with a slight smile and shaking his head marginally. "I think I get it now."

"Get what?" Lucifer questioned, frowning. He didn't like the little amused air about Sam at all.

"Nope," the Winchester smirked. "I'm keeping it to hold over your head."

Blue eyes flashed red as Lucifer's temper flared. "Samuel Winchester…" he began in a low growl.

But then Gabriel shifted, and those eyes snapped down to the boy. Lucifer held his illusion perfectly still – he briefly noted that Sam didn't move as well. Gabriel shifted again, curling under the bed sheets before stilling, none the wiser.

 _Dammit._ Gabriel always seemed to react in some way whenever Lucifer was angered, even if the boy was asleep. Lucifer needed to work on reeling in those flares quicker. The boy was rather unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) talented at picking up on Lucifer's emotions.

Lucifer released a soft huff of air through his nose, slowly raising his gaze to meet Sam's once more. "Run along, Sam. See you in the morning."

With that, Lucifer snapped his fingers, and the door to the room shut in Sam's face. Lucifer allowed himself a satisfied smirk at that. He then went back to mindlessly running his illusion's fingers through Gabriel's soft hair. He had heard the boy call the color of his hair a plain – even dirty – blond, but Lucifer disagreed. In Lucifer's opinion, Gabriel's hair was a soft gold and his eyes a rich chocolate brown.

The archangel tilted his head to the side as he caught a glimpse of Gabriel's dream. A fond smile overlayed the smirk from earlier, but then the smile fell into a sad expression that reached his eyes. He took in a sharp breath and let the illusion fade, turning his focus to slipping into the boy's dream.

This was one of the rare moments Lucifer ever got to see Gabriel's father at his finest – present and alive in the boy's life… well, dream. The man – _Charles_ , Lucifer had to remind himself – could have been a poster boy for the best father figure. He'd had a well-paying job, a loving wife, two beautiful children, but he also had dark secrets that ruined that perfect life of theirs.

Lucifer still wasn't entirely sure what it was that made Charles Bennett leave his wife and children, but he knew that it ended up with the man getting killed. He also knew that if the man hadn't left, whatever was coming back from his past would have affected Gabriel, Lucilia and their mother. Perhaps it would have been more worth it if Charles hadn't just up and left.

But then that event was what pushed Gabriel to the _Supernatural_ books – almost as a coping mechanism, something to keep him from thinking about how his dad left his family in those vast moments when the boy hadn't had anything else to do. It was also what brought Gabriel and his sister closer together. Lucifer didn't want to think about how different Gabriel might have turned out if that single event hadn't happened.

So, as the archangel gazed upon this man who pretty much changed everything for Gabriel, Lucifer reserved his judgments. Just as Lucifer had observed on other occasions, Charles was an unassuming man, looking very average even with his slightly taller than average height of six feet.

Gabriel had gotten his eyes from his father. Those same warm, chocolate orbs of light were displayed in this dream depiction of him. There were a couple other facial features that were shared between them – nose, cheekbones, jawline. Charles was also where Gabriel got his lean muscular structure from (the boy had also done a good job keeping the lean adjective in there – those bullies had gotten Gabriel for being too _smart_ for his own good, not _fat_ ).

In all, Gabriel looked more like his father than he looked like his mother. Spitting image wouldn't have been necessarily correct, but it was pretty close. Charles still didn't hold a candle to Gabriel in Lucifer's view. But there he was – a dream version anyway.

The man was helping Gabriel hold up a trumpet. It was a semblance of Gabriel's first lessons with the instrument. Though Lucifer knew the boy was a natural, Gabriel just didn't like playing much after his dad left, which was understandable.

The dream was basked in an almost yellow, ethereal lighting, and Lucifer found himself feeling a bit awkward just standing there watching. But he couldn't bring himself to intrude on the moment, fake as it was.

Gabriel probably wouldn't talk to Lucifer for a while after he woke up. It was just something that happened after a dream of him and his dad. The number of these types of dreams had started to dwindle during Lucifer and Gabriel's roaming of the country, but apparently this one was making a come back.

"Gabriel," he called to the boy softly.

Charles continued to smile brightly at his son even as a confused expression fell over the boy's face. Gabriel blinked and then turned, catching sight of Lucifer. Lucifer felt a stabbing in his chest at the boy's broken look due to the realization that this was just a dream.

That ethereal light dimmed, not a lot but enough for Lucifer to notice – the golden hue faded through gray into subtle shades of blue. Gabriel took in one last look at his father before Charles's figure disappeared in a wisp-like fog. The boy's grip on the brass instrument tightened. Lucifer didn't dare step closer just yet.

"When did I fall asleep?"

Lucifer inwardly exhaled a brief sigh of relief. That was a safe topic to start on. "Just after you finished telling me about the new content update to that game of yours," he told him.

A frown creased Gabriel's brow. "We're still in Sam's room?"

"I made sure he won't be waking you up anytime soon." He was a little surprised that Gabriel was this lucid. Sure, the boy knew when he was dreaming whenever Lucifer showed up, but Lucifer usually had to fill him in on at least half the day before Gabriel remembered specific details.

"There's something here," Gabriel said distantly, staring blankly at the trumpet in his lap. "Something in the Bunker."

Worry burned a pit into Lucifer's stomach. "Something?"

Gabriel shook his head minutely. "It's probably nothing," he mumbled.

"It hardly ever is," Lucifer commented. "You can tell me if something's wrong, Gabriel…"

"I know, I know," the boy said with several small nods. Lucifer couldn't help but feel like acknowledgment wasn't for him.

 **~o-O-o~**

"Come on, Dean," Gabriel said in a pleading tone. "Aladdin is awesome. It's one of the only Disney movies my sister and I can automatically agree to watch without complaint."

A week had passed since Gabriel arrived at the Bunker. The _Lord of the Rings_ and _The Hobbit_ marathons had been taken to rather well, and all the members in the Bunker were able to watch all of the movies without incident. Dean and Gabriel (plus Lucifer) were currently the only ones in the Bunker as Castiel, Sam and Mary had gone out for a supply run.

"The others being?" Dean asked, his focus more on looking over his collection of movies than on Gabriel. Which was why he almost missed the kid's answer. "Wait— did you just say Beauty and the Beast?"

"I grew up with a little sister," Gabriel exclaimed defensively.

Dean seemed to actually consider that. He made an acknowledging face. "At least you didn't say Frozen."

"The movie wasn't _that_ bad," the boy muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Gabriel replied innocently, perhaps just a touch too fast.

Dean then straightened a bit, a thought occurring to him. "Do you make Lucifer watch Disney movies with you?" he asked, sounding as if he couldn't even believe he was actually asking the question.

Gabriel felt Lucifer stir underneath his skin at the inquiry, rising to awareness of Gabriel's surroundings. The archangel didn't usually pay attention to trivial interactions between Gabriel and other unless it involved him, which (at this point) was starting to look like it. The boy heard the soft echo of an amused chuckle when Lucifer found out what Dean was asking.

"I don't force him to watch them," Gabriel huffed. "He can tune them out if he wants to," he added after a moment.

Dean let out a snort of laughter at that. "Well, in that case…" The hunter let out a resigned sigh. "You'd have to get the movie, kid. I don't have it."

"Done!" Gabriel exclaimed, hurriedly rushing off to the room Dean had given him.

" _It should be with the Xbox One games,_ " Lucifer informed him offhandedly. " _Can't be too sure which of the cases it's in though since you always shuffle the discs around._ "

"You sort them back out anyways," the boy grumbled. He slowed down as he entered the room, easily finding the stack of cases for video games and DVDs. His eyes quickly skimmed down the list of titles until they came across what he was looking for. "See," he pointed out, having opened the case to prove his earlier statement.

" _Only because you'd bug me to find out where something went when you lost it,_ " Lucifer retorted.

Gabriel let out an indignant scoff, ready to send back his own witty remark when he felt a tug. He blinked, curiously turning to the direction of the pull. The _Aladdin_ disc case in hand, Gabriel stepped out the room and into the hallway. He stood there for a minute, trying to get a sense of where exactly the pull was coming from. It was somewhere to his—

"Hey, Gabe!" Dean's call snapped him back to himself. "We gonna watch this movie or not? Gotta finish it before Sammy gets back!"

"Yeah," Gabriel shouted back, turning away from the pull which then slipped from his mind. "I'm coming!"

 **~o-O-o~**

It called to him like the siren's song of Greek mythology. It whispered soft promises in his ears. It pulled him closer each day. He didn't know what it was, but it felt so familiar. He felt himself longing to finally be within reach of it.

But he could also tell he was starting to worry Lucifer. The archangel was having to pull Gabriel out of blank moments in which Gabriel just zoned out. Gabriel didn't think any of the others noticed, but it was almost impossible for Lucifer not to. That didn't mean the archangel knew what was going on with Gabriel.

He couldn't have explained it either way. It was just there, growing with every passing week, day, hour. So far, the closest Gabriel had gotten to it was a door. Lucifer had snapped him out of whatever trance he was in before he could even reach for the doorknob.

It had started as the smallest of background noise, the gentlest of nudges. It had been just a feeling that there was something in the Bunker. Something… _important_.

When he had managed to distract Lucifer with some other matter, Gabriel found himself in front of that door again. As anxiety causing as this thing was, an overwhelming calm washed over him now. He opened the door to find a storeroom looking back at him.

Shadow and web and dust covered shelves sat quietly in the looming darkness of the room, but Gabriel didn't need a light for him to see. The pull guided him along the small maze of tall shelves. He was close, so close to it now.

 _There_ … on the pedestal in front of him, presented like a trophy.

He'd never laid eyes on them before, but he remembered every line and curve of them like they had been a part of him only yesterday. They were his after all. He reached out to touch them.

"Gabe!"

Arms wrapped around him, pulling him away from what was his to take back. Gabriel twisted in an attempt to free himself from the arms. No! They were trying to take him from them! He needed them— He needed them back!

"Shit— Sam! Get in here!"

Another set of arms latched onto him, and they began to drag him out of the room. No, no, no— " **Let go!** " he shouted, desperately trying to get back to what was his. " **Get off of me!** "

They had taken him out of the room now, and he was vividly aware of the door quickly slamming shut. Still, he raged even as two more figures came to the aid of the others. " **Give them back! They're mine!** " he roared over their failed attempts at calming him.

"What's he saying?" he distantly heard.

"—Enochian, but—"

"—can't hold him forever—"

"—where the hell is Lucifer–?"

Silence fell upon his senses. Cool grace washed over him, calming the overwhelming tide of rage. The red that had clouded his vision dimmed and faded, lightening only on the form in front of him. Lucifer.

"Gabriel?" Concern flooded the archangel's voice. Lucifer was worried.

 _Why?_ a hushed thought in the back of Gabriel's mind asked. What was so wrong that Lucifer was worried about him? Why did he care?

"Gabriel, listen to me… Please," Lucifer pleaded gently.

Confusion filled Gabriel's being. That didn't make sense. Lucifer didn't beg for anything. Gabriel faintly felt the hands holding the sides of his face, keeping him locked in place under Lucifer's gaze.

"I will find a way to fix this—" the archangel began his promise.

Gabriel cut him off before he could finish. "I'm not broken," he stated apathetically, detached. "Not whole. Fragmented. A piece."

"What..?" Something flashed across Lucifer's crystalline blue eyes as a frown creased his brow. Something more than the worry and concern. Fear.

Fury flickered back to life, igniting a golden flame in Gabriel's eyes. "On swift wings I deliver my father's word."

Recognition hit Lucifer hard. "A message," he whispered, only loud enough for Gabriel and himself to hear. The fingers curled in Gabriel's hair twitched and tightened their grip. "That's impossible," he said, louder this time.

"What is it?" Gabriel distantly heard Mary ask.

"Gabriel's soul is reacting to whatever was in that room," Castiel answered, his voice muffled by static. "But his soul isn't really a _human_ soul… is it, Lucifer?"

The archangel didn't answer. He only continued to search Gabriel's face for anything of the boy he knew, but he found nothing – only a shell. Lucifer choked on a sudden harsh breath. He'd been too late. He hadn't realized in time. He'd thought he'd be able to keep Gabriel away, but he'd let the boy get too close—

"I want them back."

"Don't!" Lucifer snapped as Dean moved to open the door, his eyes never leaving Gabriel's face. "Don't you dare."

"Why not?" the hunter demanded. "We're not getting anywhere else without 'em."

"He doesn't understand what getting them back will do," Lucifer explained slowly, irritation clear in his voice. "It will crush him."

Castiel let out a morose sigh, shifting in place. "He's already gone, Lucifer."

"No he's not," the archangel denied vehemently. "He's still in there somewhere. I _will_ find him. _I'll bring him back._ "

"You have to let him go," Castiel tried again. "He won't be the same either way. The hold it has over him will keep trying. It won't stop until they merge."

"What is it anyway?" Sam asked. "I don't think we've inventoried this room yet."

Dean glanced behind him at the door. "They're in the back of the room. Gabriel was inches away from touching them."

"Them, it— which is it?" Mary inquired from where she stood next to Castiel.

Castiel frowned and moved over to the door, quickly and quietly slipping into the room. When he came back out, a golden feather was in his hand.

 **~o-O-o~**

Lucifer had taken Gabriel back to their room with Mary following behind them. Meanwhile, the Winchester brothers and Castiel met in the library, the feather sitting innocently on the table for them all to see.

"Dammit, Cas," Dean fumed, pacing furiously across the room as he hadn't been able to stay still for more than a second. "You better explain what the hell is going on."

"Would you like to hear the long and theorized version or the short one?" the angel shot back, his arms folded across his chest. Blue eyes tracked the older Winchester's path from one wall to the other and back.

Sam, who was sitting at the table, picked up the gold feather by the quill. "Can you start with how the Men of Letters somehow got ahold of _Gabriel's wings_?"

"Not his wings," Castiel said informingly. "Only... an echo of them."

"You wanna add on why it looks like some weird rock now that Gabriel is away from them?" Dean muttered.

Castiel let out a tired sigh. "It was probably because of the boy's proximity to the wings."

"Wait— so is Gabriel actually Gabriel, the archangel, or..?" Sam trailed off, not entirely sure how to word the rest of his question.

"This is why the long version is majorly only conjecture," Castiel began.

"In it, I believe that sometime around when Gabriel first left Heaven he tore out part of his being, and though he didn't fall, he obviously lost a significant portion of himself in the process… Uh, like Anna, his grace and soul – so to say – split. The grace must have manifested as the odd formation of gold, rutilated quartz you saw on the physical plane. It was most likely mistaken as an artifact due to the grace and eventually wound up in the Men of Letters' hands.

"As for the boy, I can only assume that the fragment of Gabriel is at the base of the boy's soul. It explains why the soul kept being reused, getting reincarnated over the centuries as it would be too pure to go to Hell but has no actual heaven to go to. When the two were suddenly in the same place, it became impossible to not be attracted to one another…"

Dean stopped pacing sometime during Cas's explanation. "What's going to happen to the kid?"

"I don't know," Castiel admitted with a frown. "The base instinct the boy has been reduced to is only the grace and soul wanting to be one once more." Castiel looked up, shaking his head before looking down to the floor. "But even if the two rejoin, Gabriel will not be _whole_."

"Because the archangel was killed?" Sam questioned, concern being physically broadcasted as he set down the feather.

"Yes," Castiel answered solemnly. "Lucifer began to suspect something not long after the first week, but he didn't realize Gabriel was… Gabriel. He's become too attached to believe that the boy is anything but."

Sam frowned at the information, but his mind was already moving on to other disturbing thoughts. "Cas, what would happen if the grace and soul don't rejoin?"

"Nothing good."

"And the kid's still gonna be messed up even if he—" Dean threw his arms up in the air in a wild and frustrated gesticulation. "Just friggin' great."

"Is there any way we can fix this?" Sam asked. "There's gotta be something we can do to help him, Cas. Gabriel's just a kid."

Castiel pursed his lips in thought, referring back to the memory of a conversation he'd had with Lucifer about the theory. "There might be… If we were able to reunite the fragmented grace and soul with a piece of Gabriel's grace before he died, then… _maybe_ it would work. But we don't have anything like that."

"Well, we have his blade—"

"No," Castiel interrupted. "The archangel's created their blades long before creation. What I have in mind would require something Gabriel created just before his death."

Sam's eyes lit up at a sudden thought. "The video!" he exclaimed, scrambling to his feet.

"Th— the what?" Dean sputtered as he tried to follow his brother who was quickly leaving the room. "What video..? Wait— You kept that thing?!"

* * *

 **A/N: Sam totally kept that disc that Gabriel (the archangel) gave them at the end of _Hammer of the Gods_ , lol. Looks like the cat's out of the bag. This wasn't a surprise for some of you, though, was it? At the very least, you all suspected it. **

Last edited: [May 24, 2018]

* * *

 **Tripod Gal:** I'm not completely sure what you mean by "just a simple reincarnation by Chuck", but I'm glad you liked the chapter, and I'm hoping you like the rest of the story, too. If it helps clear things up, Chuck (God) was only involved in directing Lucifer to Gabriel Bennett. Charles Bennett was just some guy that happened to be the father of one of Gabriel's incarnations, and Gabriel has had many, many incarnations over the last few thousand years – Cas may have only mentioned ten, but Gabriel would have been through at least twenty.

 **Broken Twisted Lullabies:** Hmm... I'm still curious to know what you thought it was, even if it was off by a little bit. It was actually going to be Gabriel's blade that they were going to use, but then I was reading a couple fics and happened across _A Final Goodbye (One Shot)_ by whaleofataleteller in which Lucifer finds the video, which had a message from Gabriel to him (I say I happened across it, but I've read it like three times now... I don't think you can find it anymore though). Anyways, at that point the disc made more sense since it was the last thing that Gabriel had created before he died, and I just kind of went with it. Plus, it added a bit of humor. And (while it'd be totally cool to have more) I'd say this fic has quite a few reviews – there's more reviews than followers.


	11. Ever as Before

**Chapter 11**

 **Ever as Before**

How long had it been since he'd last felt like this? Whole? Together? Complete?

He drifted on the edges of consciousness, soaking up the feeling. But something was… off, different. It was disorienting. Memories that weren't his but were flooded his mind. And he could tell his vessel wasn't the same.

Those weren't facts that bothered him. There was still something else he hadn't picked up on yet. Not all the pieces of the puzzle that made up his being were in place quite yet. What had been the last thing that happened?

He remembered a great open plain. Wind raged around him, whipping the grass with unrelenting gales of force. He had fallen to his knees because of the sheer agony that came from ripping out part of his being – oh, Father, it had _hurt_ – but it had been worth it, hadn't it?

He remembered multiple childhoods. Most happy, pleasant memories that inspired him to be great; others that were sad but caused a need to do better, to be better. David, Giovanni, Aaron, Victoria, Rhiannon, Ishmael… only a few of the names of the lives he had lived. Who was he?

Gabriel, the archangel. "God is my strength". Divine messenger of God. The youngest archangel, little brother to Michael, Lucifer and Raphael. Gabriel, the runaway. Turned pagan god, Loki. Trickster. Son of none, dead to his brothers.

Gabriel Bennett, a human child. Son of one Charles Bennett, who left his family. Older brother to Lucilia, the light of his world. Gabriel Bennett, a vessel to Lucifer. Lucifer, his friend.

No, his brother… Not brother.

An explosion went off behind the veil of clarity he was barely holding onto. Rapid memories came in torrents, carrying his thoughts away – drowning them in an ocean of turmoil. He couldn't keep up. It was all too much.

It continued on like this. Brief glimpses of momentary clarity only to be torn away and shoved into the swirling winds of chaos. But he was getting closer. He had to be.

And then there it was – _finally, an answer_.

But… that— that couldn't be right. How could he be dead but still alive? Frustrated confusion filled his being. This wasn't _right_. Nothing was. He didn't understand!

"You might want to calm down before you blow out all the lights in the Bunker."

He froze at the voice. So familiar – _warm, safe, home_ but also _cold, danger, death_. How— why was _he_ here? He quickly spun to face his brother in this poorly held together mindscape. He probably could have done a better job. He knew he'd made worlds better pocket dimensions before.

Lucifer held up his hands in a gesture of peace, attempting to placate his little brother. "I won't hurt you, Gabriel."

"Yeah," he scoffed. "It's totally safe to be around my killer."

"I regret what I did everyday, Gabriel."

"Stop it!" he demanded.

A slight frown flashed across Lucifer's face. "Stop what?"

"That—"

 _Gabriel face palmed. "If this is going to work so that people don't think I'm insane and put us in a mental asylum, there has to be some kind of agreement between us. I'm already questioning my own sanity, and it would help if no one walked in on me talking to an imaginary Devil."_

 _The image of Lucifer making a face came to the forefront of Gabriel's mind. "I take slight offense to that."_

 _"There! That— don't do that when I'm with someone else. It's distracting, and this isn't even basics."_

He stumbled back at the overpowering memory. Holding a hand to his throbbing head, he held up the other to ward Lucifer off. He was missing something. He was missing something big.

"I need you to listen to me carefully, Gabriel," Lucifer began.

"I said _stop it_ , asshole," he hissed, looking for someplace he could go to get away from his older brother.

"Gabriel—"

But he was already shaking his head, memories bombarding him, fracturing an already broken mind. "No! Get out— **Get out!** "

 **~o-O-o~**

"He kicked me out."

Mary turned, jumping slightly at the voice. She hadn't been expecting this visitor – especially not in a dream. Yes, a dream. That had been the easiest thing to figure out once she remembered that John was dead. And because she knew it was only a dream, she had gone along with it.

The archangel had only dropped by in her dreams a couple times, perhaps only once per every week that he'd been in the Bunker. Mary didn't mind his visits. He really only watched, and when he had happened to interact with her, they simply talked. Their main topic was Gabriel.

"Lucifer," Mary greeted him after she calmed her startled heart. "Who kicked you out?"

She already had a sad suspicion of what he meant. _Gabriel_. The boy had been comatose for almost a week now. Mary was pretty sure she had accidentally fallen asleep by his bedside. After those first couple days, it was mostly Castiel and herself that continued to check on Lucifer and the unconscious Gabriel.

"I— I don't understand," he admitted, meeting her gaze with distraught eyes. "He didn't even let me explain…"

Mary broke away from her dream husband's side, moving over to Lucifer and having him sit down on the couch before taking a seat beside him. She knew it was… odd of Lucifer to visit it her in dreams – that he technically would have benefited more from visiting Sam not seven years ago, during the Apocalypse. But now was not seven years ago, and Lucifer had changed since then.

Maybe that was why the archangel came to her. Mary was the first of the makeshift Winchester family that had acknowledged his new stance. Despite any prejudice or even having never met him, she had known that Lucifer cared more for Gabriel than the entire world.

"Here," she said softly, handing him a warm cup of coffee. "You don't have to drink it, but you can use it as something to hold on to. Tell me what happened. Take you time— just don't bottle this up."

Lucifer let out a sardonic laugh, staring down at the steam rising from the cup. "I knew from the damn second he opened that door..."

"Knew what?" Mary inquired when he didn't go on. But she reasoned he was referring to... Gabriel – both the archangel and the boy.

"I could feel it— the grace. It was impossible not to sense it, but I— I couldn't— I didn't want to believe it was really..."

Mary remained silent, passively watching as the archangel struggled to form complete thoughts with his words. She found it heartbreaking. Lucifer had cared – and still did care – for this one boy who was likely gone forever, lost to a much older version of himself. A version that had just effectively shut Lucifer out.

"I tried— I tried so hard to keep this— to keep him—"

Mary briefly recalled Sam confiding something to her about this – about how this was all that Lucifer was concerned about. That conversation had only strengthen her conclusion about the archangel. It was what pushed her to help him now.

She wanted to help him, this man, an archangel – one of God's oldest creations, who was really only a child. The mother in Mary saw a child in need and strove to help. This motherly intuition refused to leave him scrambling to keep what he had built together, to keep it from falling apart anymore than it already had.

"I— I thought I'd finally get my happy ending too, and then—"

When Lucifer cut himself off with a strangled gasp, Mary took his hands in hers, steadying them. "You loved him, didn't you?"

Lucifer stiffened, not meeting her gaze.

"It's okay, Lucifer," she told him, rubbing small circles with her thumbs on the back of his hands. "It's okay to admit you cared for him. He became a little brother to you. He _is_ your little brother."

That made Lucifer flinch, but he didn't try to leave Mary's grasp. His hands were shaking, and the cup probably would have shattered if they weren't in a dream.

"It's okay, Lucifer," she repeated.

He managed to let out a shuddering breath. "He hates me," he mumbled.

Something inside of Mary wilted at the broken statement. She wasn't sure how to respond, and for a moment, they were left in silence. Then, slowly, she replied, "He can't hate you."

"What do you mean?" Lucifer asked, frowning slightly.

"He's still Gabriel, our Gabriel," Mary told him. "And from what Sam and Dean told me, Gabriel the archangel never did stop loving his brothers."

Lucifer began to shake his head. "I killed him—"

"You regret doing it," she interrupted him before he could go on a self-destructive path. "I can see it in your eyes. Don't dwell on that— it's done, in the past."

Lucifer fell silent at that, and Mary bit her bottom lip. She hoped she hadn't overstepped any boundaries – touchy ones anyway. She knew she'd have to cross a few, but she didn't want the archangel to shut down on her.

"You'll be waking up soon," he informed her suddenly.

Mary blinked, her brain taking an extra second to process what he'd just said. A sudden thought came to her. "But you don't have anywhere to go—"

"I'll have to make do," Lucifer cut her off. A slight smile graced his lips. "It shouldn't be too hard to find some isolated area not far from here—"

"You can stay here, Lucifer," Mary cut him off right back, stunning him. "I'm not sure if you'll be able to stay long, but you can stay."

Lucifer let out a scoffing huff of laughter, his shoulders jerking with the action. "Why do I even bother…" Blue eyes flickered up to meet hers. "What is it that has you people volunteering to be a vessel without me even asking?" he asked curiously.

"Well, I don't really know Gabriel's reason, but I think when Gabriel does wake up, you should be here. You're his brother, and maybe he'll understand when he wakes up."

A small frown creased Lucifer's brow. "I don't think you'll last that long," he said, deep in thought. "You're of the correct bloodline but…"

"It doesn't matter," she told him after it didn't look like he'd pick back up on his thought. "Castiel was talking about it earlier. There's a spell that can make a perfectly suitable body for you."

"I assume that I'll need to find a witch to cast this spell," Lucifer observed.

Mary shook her head. "I'll tell Sam and Dean that I need to go out for a bit and then have Cas take us to go see Rowena."

Lucifer scowled at the name. "Crowley's mother doesn't exactly like me," he pointed out.

"Just let me and Cas handle that," she said confidently.

Lucifer let out a long sigh, setting the cup down before looking back to her. "What's the magic word?"

"Yes."

 **~o-O-o~**

So many confusing, torqued paths within a maze. One horror after another appearing before him. Sometimes he got a short reprieve when he landed on a good memory. Then he got swept away again. He was lost, and there was no end in sight.

It was like he was falling down a tunnel with no way to slow down. The images of past lives flashing before him – there for only a split second to understand before getting whisked away and replaced by another.

He hit the ground hard, landing on his back. He gasped in pain at the impact. His wings definitely didn't like that. It took him a minute to find it in himself to get up, dragging himself into a sitting position and then actually standing up.

The scene before him finally calmed into one event by that point, all of it settling into a whited-out mindscape. It ended up on something he didn't remember— No, he remembered it, but he didn't remember experiencing it himself. It was one of his other memories then…

There was a girl. She couldn't have been more than eight. Blonde curls bounced up and down on her shoulders as she nodded to something that he wasn't seeing. Her light smile seemed to brighten the place.

 _"Will you tell me a story?"_

With a frown etched on his face, he could only stare at the girl. He felt like she was important. Did he know her?

"Of course you do."

He jerked back slightly at being acknowledged. Was there another here that was in his head that wasn't supposed to be? He couldn't handle one dark form of the past. Why did there have to be more? But when he turn his eyes to the new figure behind him, he was met with only warmth, light.

"Who are you?" he asked hesitantly.

The fair-haired boy smiled at him. "I'm you," the boy answered. Then he turned to point at the girl. "And that's our sister— well, _my_ sister. You have too many siblings for me to count… had anyway. There's so few of the angels left now."

"What..?" He was at a loss. This boy was him? Something in the back of his mind confirmed the boy's statement, but he still couldn't connect the boy to being him. He didn't—

"You don't remember," the boy commented with a self-depreciating smile. "You remember, but you don't. That's the problem, isn't it?"

He could only nod. If this boy really was him – and he was apparently – then shouldn't he have some answers? Or at the very least something to point him in the right direction… right? The cynical side of him roared in laughter at that thought. When did he ever get a break?

"Whether I can help is up to you," the boy interrupted his thoughts, giving him an honest shrug. "I am you after all, and that means you're also technically me. So really you're helping yourself."

 _Okay…_ He totally understood that – he got the gist of it anyways. But what did that have to do with—

"You're the dominant personality here. You're in control. This is our mind after all," the boy said simply as if it should have been common knowledge (though he supposed it really was after a moment).

"You died," the boy continued once he was sure that he was listening. "But a long time ago you decided that it hurt too much to keep part of yourself with you. You wrapped it up into a tight ball and then tore it out. You went on to become a trickster, Loki, not too long after.

"All of these memories that aren't yours _are_ yours— just from that piece of yourself you ripped out. That piece had split, and the soul portion lived many, many lives. I'm the most recent…" The boy gave him a shy smile. "I'm Gabriel."

He wasn't entirely sure what to say, but the words slipped from his mouth before he could think to stop them. "Nice name, kiddo."

The boy's smile grew, his eyes twinkling. "Well, yeah. It's our name."

"Gabriel..?" he repeated, tasting how the name rolled off his tongue.

"Yep," the boy affirmed with a nod. That smile fell from the boy's face, a sad expression replacing it. "You hurt him, you know."

Gabriel frowned at that, drawing a blank.

"Lucifer."

Oh… _Oh_. "He'll be fine," Gabriel brushed off, taking on an affronted air. "He doesn't need to be in my head anyways. He should've cleared out awhile ago— as soon as he realized who we were. That bag of dicks _killed me_."

The boy shook his head. "You don't remember," he sighed.

"And what exactly am I supposed to be remembering?" Gabriel huffed. A glared was leveled on him, and Gabriel found himself taken aback. "What?"

"Again, the problem: you remember, but you don't."

"Is it really that bad?" he muttered. He knew who he was now. That was the important thing. So what if he couldn't place certain things from memories that weren't even his.

"You shouldn't think like that," the boy warned. "You'll go down the wrong path with those thoughts, and it's a long way down."

Gabriel narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Are you threatening me, kid?"

The boy let out a scoff of laughter. "Why would I threaten myself? You'll just end up back here when you're ready to listen again. I can wait for a long time. You on the other hand can't hold your sanity down. You wouldn't last long," he said seriously.

"That's a threat if I ever heard one," Gabriel quipped.

True anger made its way onto the boy's face. "Fine. You want to be that way, have fun down memory lane."

Gabriel barely had anytime to register the words before he was falling again.

* * *

 **A/N: I know it might have been a little confusing but the ambiguous pronoun usage (when it was like all 'he' and 'his' and 'him' with no reference to whom it was talking about) was completely on purpose. It's supposed to sort of show a loss of identity and then, when Gabriel starts referring to himself as Gabriel again, a regaining of identity. It's more than likely to happen in later chapters and not just to Gabriel. Just clearing that up right now.**

Last edited: [May 24, 2018]

* * *

 **Tripod Gal:** Oh! That makes much more (like _a lot_ ) sense in that context. It didn't really occur to me that Gabriel Bennett could have been a direct reincarnation, but that might have been because of how I was focused on this version of it.

 **havarti2:** Yup, I did.


	12. Ever Just as Sure

**Chapter 12**

 **Ever Just as Sure**

He isn't sure how long he fell, but he knew it wasn't as long as last time, though both felt like an eternity. But eventually he landed back in that blank, open mindscape. And he hit the ground, hard… again.

A groan passed his lips as he rolled onto his side. When he managed to finally focus on his surroundings, he noticed that the girl was gone, replace by an older man. The man seemed familiar, and he was hit with the feeling that he should know who the man was.

 _"Hey, kiddo. What do you want to play?"_

A surge of sensations came with the words: longing, sorrow, love, hurt. The man's name was just barely out of reach. He knew this man was important. He had to be.

"That's my dad."

Narrowing at the offending figure, amber eyes met brown ones. "You."

The boy gave him an innocent smile. "Me."

"You little shit—" he started, picking himself up off of the floor of the mindscape.

"I wouldn't if I were you," the boy warned a touch smugly. "And since I am you, you might want to take my advice. You should also actually listen to what I say. You'll find I'm very informative."

"What are you? Some kind of moral center?" he huffed, glaring at the boy.

The boy seemed to actually stop to think about the answer. "No, not really…" the boy finally said with a slight shake of his head. "You don't get it."

"Well, duh," he said with a roll of his eyes. "You're not even telling me anything."

The boy blinked, tilting his head to the side slightly, and then a look he didn't recognize crossed the boy's face. "You're forgetting again, Gabriel."

He scowled, about to snap a retort back at the boy before it hit him. "Oh…"

"It's not that you're actually forgetting," the boy went on, beginning to walk in a small circle in the white space. "It's just that you keep losing your connection to our memories."

"So then why do _you_ remember?" Gabriel asked his other part of himself.

The boy shrugged, making frustration flare over the rest of Gabriel's emotions. A splash of brown and dark purple colored the white space far off in the distance. Gabriel stared at it as the boy continued in his little circle, only briefly sparing the fading colors a glance.

"That's good," the boy said. "That means you're starting to connect."

"Colors?" Gabriel scoffed incredulously. Dark orange, dull yellow and gray all painted the horizon. Gabriel narrowed his eyes at the colors.

Pausing to look over at the new colors, the boy sighed. "You know, this would go a lot easier if you trusted me."

The dark orange of distrust painted over the gray. "Really? I barely even know you!"

"You know everything about me," the boy replied calmly.

He crouched down and place his right index finger on the ground. A swirl of colors swept across the ground, crawling up to create a scene around them. Gabriel eyed the boy, who stood once more, warily as the scene began to play. They stood to the side of the people moving about, watching them as simple observers.

"What is this?" Gabriel asked. He knew this. He recognized it from… somewhere.

The boy gave him a 'that would be telling' look before turning his attention back to what Gabriel realized must be a memory. It looked like they were in a room filled with books in a giant underground bunker. There were a few antiques lying around on stands, and a couple tables with lamps were in the middle of the area.

A man walked into the room: Dean. The thought came out of nowhere, and a sharp pain shot through Gabriel head, making him wince, blinking rapidly. The boy moved a little closer and took Gabriel's hand. Gabriel looked down at the contact and then back to the memory. It didn't slip past his notice that the pain had dimmed to a dull throb.

Sam and Castiel walked into the room next, and not long after so did a blonde woman. Was that..?

Beside him, the boy nodded. "Mary was brought back to life by the Darkness after Dean help Her and Chuck reconcile. It was Amara's way of thanking Dean," the boy informed him.

"Chuck… as in–?"

"God, yeah. I'm not really sure why He goes by Chuck though," the boy said. "Lucifer actually thinks that it's His doing that he and I met."

Gabriel frowned, unsure of how to respond to the information. Instead, he returned his attention to the memory again. Another minute passed, conversation flitting about the four, but no one else entered the room. Gabriel didn't understand why he was being shown this if the boy wasn't in the memory. Then the boy spoke up.

A new conversation started, something about watching _Lord of the Rings_. Sam rolled his eyes at least twice at some of Dean's movie plans, and Mary smiled at her son when he whispered a soft comment to her. Castiel spent most of the time staring at the boy.

Gabriel's grip tightened around the boy's hand as the scene suddenly shifted. When the image settled, Gabriel recognized the place as Las Vegas. An odd sense of calm seeped into him when Gabriel noticed Lucifer was there. A soft squeeze of his hand made Gabriel realize the calm was coming from the boy.

The more Gabriel focused on the feeling the more emotions came over the touch: comfort, happiness, familial love. Gabriel felt some of his own emotions rise to join the mixture, emotions of nostalgia.

Lucifer said something, but Gabriel couldn't hear what he was saying. A frustrated huff escaped his lips, and the boy turned to look up at him. Understanding was expressed on the boy's face.

"He was asking if I wanted to go see the Grand Canyon next," the boy told him even as the scenery started changing again. "He took us to this peak of some really tall cliff. The view was amazing."

Gabriel's breath was taken away as the scene stilled on the very same view. He remembered this. Not just from that time Coyote wanted to meet with him (back when he was still parading around as a trickster) for some fun and games. No, Gabriel remembered Lucifer telling him about random facts pertaining to the massive canyon. He remembered Lucifer holding him steady as he looked over the edge of the cliff. He remembered Lucifer then walking them over that edge and having them hover in the air. He remember looking down and not being scared of the thousands of feet of open space below him because Lucifer was there.

Gabriel remembered learning how to fly. He remembered how he wasn't scared then either because Lucifer was always ready to catch him if he started to fall. He remembered conspiratorially whispering about Michael, who was usually subtly watching from a distance. He remembered Lucifer telling him that he'd never let go.

He remembered Lucifer promising that Gabriel would get his happy ending.

The archangel stumbled back, overcome with the wave of memories. But the boy was there, grounding him. One thought broke out over the rest. This boy – this other part of Gabriel – he had said yes to Lucifer. Why? After everything Lucifer had done – why?

"He's our brother."

Gabriel's golden-amber eyes snapped to the boy. "How— He killed us— _killed me!_ He rebelled against Dad. That selfish bastard broke our family apart!"

The boy's voice suddenly echoed about the space that had reverted back to the blank white. _"If you could go back and change any one thing, what would it be?"_

 _"Why do you care?" another voice – Lucifer's – huffed back._

 _"I'm just curious," the boy responded._

 _"Curiosity killed the cat, you know."_

 _The boy rolled his eyes. "I'm not a cat."_

 _Lucifer was silent for a moment. Then he answered, "Killing Gabriel. I'd change that. Everything else was worth it, but not that."_

"So what?" Gabriel snapped. "Lucifer killed me. _My own brother killed me._ Do you really expect me to forgive him for that?! Do you know how much that _hurts_?"

The boy shook his head. "No, I don't, but I do know that if you're ever going to be able to move on, you have to let this go."

"How?!" Gabriel demanded, yanking his hand away from the boy's. "Something like that doesn't just go away!"

"And it will always be there," the boy conceded, "but you have to forgive him."

Fury blazed in Gabriel's eyes. Dark red splintered across the white sky, flooding the space with splattered drops of blood colored hues. The color spilled from everywhere and nowhere, pouring down the sides of the mindscape.

But the boy was unperturbed by the overwhelming amounts of red. Around him a steady circle of calm, swirling colors protected him from the red. A light purple flitted along the outer rim of the circle. The color of compassion and independence intertwined with a rich yet soft blue – trust, loyalty, faith. Forest green stability carefully weaved about the first two colors, bringing them together to touch the golden yellow joy that mixed intelligence and wisdom. At the center, a pure, glowing white with the most intricate of silver accents followed the boy's steps.

As the boy moved closer, the purple reached out, hesitantly asking if it could make contact with Gabriel. The archangel was starting to shake his head when a blue streak twirled its way up with the purple along with a strand of yellow. Gabriel stepped back. He didn't want the boy's sympathy or his understanding.

"Sometimes what we want is not what we need. You of all people should know that," the boy said softly. The gold around his feet glowed brighter, mixing temporarily with the white.

"Shut up," Gabriel snapped. "I don't need this— I remember already!"

"No, you don't," the boy snapped back, a fire igniting in his eyes. "If you did, you wouldn't be arguing with me."

"Yeah, kid? Looks like you're the one forgetting that thirteen years doesn't hold a candle to thousands of millennia of existence!"

"What about the several thousand years of you hating yourself!" the boy shouted heatedly. "I'm sure you had a grand time after ripping me out."

"Oh, but I did— because I didn't have a moral twat pestering me all the time!" Gabriel exclaimed.

"Why did I ever like you?" the boy huffed. "You're a hypocritical asshole that only cares about himself."

"Don't you dare," Gabriel hissed lowly. "Don't you dare compare me to him."

The boy let out a condescending scoff. "Of course not. He's better than you ever were."

Gabriel didn't fight the pull that sent him hurtling back into that torrent of memories. He was already lost in the swirling sea of sorrow.

 **~o-O-o~**

Mary felt like she was walking in the frigid air of winter while in the mountains. She knew that Lucifer's grace burned cold – Gabriel had mentioned it to her in passing while he'd been describing his time with Lucifer to her. That didn't at all prepare her for the constant sensation of getting dunked in ice cold water.

She could feel the archangel too – near her soul, next to her heart. There, tucked away in a corner he'd isolated himself in, he didn't feel like the Artic as much as just radiating wave after wave of cool energy. If she had been holding that feeling in her bare hands, it would have been like holding a snowball. A glowing snowball of pure celestial energy that could burn her eyes out with only a look and burst her eardrums with barely a sound.

But he hadn't said a word to her since the dream. As soon as she'd woken up, he'd fled to a back corner of her mind and warded off her attempts to talk to him. She had backed off when she felt him curl himself into a tight ball, turning away from her.

Then Castiel had entered the room. Mary thought that it was probably for the best that the angel find out first – and really it was in their best interest that only the angel knew. As much as Mary hated lying to her sons, she knew they would slow her down, and she needed to get Lucifer in a body of his own back to Gabriel before the latter woke up.

"Castiel," she greeted with a short nod of her head. When he only turned his gaze back to her after staring at Gabriel for a moment, she continued. "Gabriel kicked Lucifer out. We need to get Rowena to put him in that body you were talking about," she explained quickly.

A frown came over the angel's face. He looked like he was about to question why Mary would say yes to Lucifer – _that was the popular inquiry or at least a variation of it, wasn't it?_ – but then his eyes narrowed. "What is Lucifer doing now?"

"He's, uh…" Mary trailed off, inwardly 'looking' at the archangel. "He's trying to make this transition as… safe as possible."

Castiel gave her a look along with a raised eyebrow that screamed his opinion of the matter, and it was not a high opinion either. "And how exactly you were planning on confronting Rowena?"

"I was hoping you would help," she told him up front.

"I take it you weren't going to tell Sam or Dean." Mary shook her head, and Castiel sighed. "You do realize that they'll know something's up when we both leave."

"Well, I was going to use the excuse that I had to go out for a bit… I'm working on the rest of the plan."

A disgruntled expression crossed the angel's face before it fell away to something more resigned. "Start at the beginning."

 **~o-O-o~**

Gabriel paid attention as he fell this time. He was still being pulled and shoved and yanked in various directions, but he watched each snippet of memory.

 _Messing around in the Garden with his Father. Love and warmth and light all made up this picture._

 _Growing up as an only child as in the early centuries. He hadn't been lonely, actually having quite a multitude of friends… Still, sometimes he longed for a family he didn't have._

 _Working in the factories during the late 1800s. His job was hard and grueling, but it was what put food on the table._

 _Pulling a rather elaborate trick on this massive douche. It was one of his better works, he was proud to admit._

 _Listening to Michael tell him about how stars worked. And when he became restless and bored during his brother's long-winded explanation, Lucifer snuck over and stole him away to actually go play._

 _Learning the hard way that honor and respect had to be earned. He had to work his way back to his place by his father and mother's sides. He would die before disgracing them again._

 _Attending a meeting with the Norse gods. Thor had lost Mjolnir or something. Eh, Heimdall certainly had a good idea. Wait— why did he have to go with Thor to get the stupid hammer?!_

 _Glancing over to Lucifer as their Father gave His second born the Mark. He wasn't jealous – he didn't have such an emotion – but he was… worried, concerned. Who knew what that thing on Lucifer's arm would do? Nothing good, of that much he was certain._

 _Marching across a desert with the sun's rays beating down against his back. He was tired… so, so tired. But he had to keep moving forward. There wasn't any turning back now. He had to get his wife and child away from those monsters. They would build a new life in the Promised Lands._

 _Staring up at the night sky as stars fell across the heavens as she leaned against her husband. There was something she was missing. Something… more. Her husband asked her what was wrong, and she replied that it was nothing. And really, that was indeed what was wrong. She loved this man. She loved him with all of her heart, but she felt nothing for him. Her soul belonged elsewhere._

 _Stifling his laughter as Lucifer failed to keep his eyes from watering at the burn of the pepper. Lucifer growled in frustration at him, but there was a fondness in the archangel's eyes that told him Lucifer wasn't truly mad. Still, when Lucifer's face began turning red, he couldn't help the resounding laugh that left his lips, and by the small smile that Lucifer wore, he knew everything was well._

 _Watching the illusion Lucifer used for these things buy them tickets into the theater. He hadn't thought Lucifer would actually agree to watching the movie with him, but Lucifer just shrugged and walked up to the ticket line. He asked Lucifer what he thought of the movie afterwards. The archangel had once again merely shrugged. However, not long after Lucifer told him that he wouldn't mind doing something like that again._

 _Looking out the window at the scenery flying by as the train swept past the countryside. It was calm, peaceful. It also reminded him of home. His dad used to take his family on train rides to go up north to visit his dad's side of their extended family. He briefly shot a glance over at Lucifer, who simply kept his eyes focused on the different trees and bushes and grass outside the moving transportation. The archangel had begrudgingly agreed to ride the train because he had insisted, but he could feel the soft hum of contentedness coming from the archangel's grace within him._

Gabriel must have closed his eyes at some point – that or he had blinked. Either way, he opened his eyes to that now familiar, blank white space. When he blinked (possibly again), his mindscape wasn't blank or white anymore. It teemed with life and people and things and places and memories.

After an initial moment of stunned shock, he weaved his way through the jumbled crowds that reminded him of a giant carnival, crossing through a mix-match of three different memories in one step and entering two more with another. He was surrounded by so many familiar people and things… all from his past lives and his archangelic existence. All the while, he could feel himself being pulled to what he knew was the center of this menagerie.

The boy sat at a table waiting for him. Gabriel eyed the chair that was placed across from the boy, and when he gestured for Gabriel to sit, the archangel took a seat. He never stopped looking around at the memories milling about – all of them distanced from the two of them by about room's worth of space.

"So," Gabriel began, watching as a past life walked by, holding hands with her fiancée. "This is… us?"

The boy tilted his head to the side. "Technically, what you're seeing behind me, is me, or at least the human side of us. Behind you, is the rest— both your archangelic memories and your pagan escapades. You happened to wander here down one of the divides."

Gabriel began to look back at the scenes around them, taking note of where each divide was. He could see them all – _remember_ it all. He felt so full, so whole, so alive. He was Gabriel: the archangel, the trickster, father, brother, son and many, many more.

The archangel slowly turned his gaze back to the fading image of the boy. "What's happening to you? You can't just _leave now_."

"You don't need me anymore," the boy told him with a small smile. "You've accepted us."

"But— what if I need you again?" Gabriel blurted out. "How am I supposed to forgive him?"

The boy chuckled lightly. "I'm you, remember? I'll always be here, and forgiving Lucifer is something you have to do on your own… I do have a request though."

"Name it, kiddo."

Gabriel felt a sad understanding run through him as the boy faded into nothing once he had told Gabriel of his request. But this was what was always going to happen, wasn't it? The boy was only a piece of him that his mind had manifested to help him reconnect himself together, and now the boy's job was done.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry? Though I do have to ask... how many feels did I just stab in the heart?**

 **On a completely (okay, maybe not completely) unrelated topic, I went to go see** _ **Beauty and the Beast**_ **yesterday, and I** **loved** **it. Sure, it made a couple new plot holes, but it filled in some of the original ones. And the 'gay thing' a select group are complaining about isn't anything to worry about if you're not uncomfortable all of our fandom's ships (tbh, it isn't Gaston and LeFou you want to pair – it's the guy at the very end that LeFou's dancing with that makes ship material; LeFou deserves better than Gaston). I think I'm gonna go listen to the soundtracks all over again** **–** **especially the 'Finale' bit with that extra verse to "Tale as Old as Time"... Dang it, I want to watch the movie again, and I already watched it yesterday!**

 **Back to a related topic, did you people take that 'more reviews than followers' comment to heart or something? Because all of a sudden I got like four followers in** **a row – which now puts the stats at two more follows than reviews (but, hey, who's counting). Oh, and we hit two thousand, two hundred and eight views like as I'm posting this chapter. Just letting you guys know if you were curious.**

Last edited: [May 24, 2018]

* * *

 **Broken Twisted Lullabies:** Maybe the next chapter gave you some bandages to put on that wound, though I guess a Band-Aid won't help a massive stab to the heart (if it was even that). And yes, in a way what's been going on with Gabriel over these last two chapters was a matter of two split pieces of a soul (which I guess would make them two souls in a manner of speaking) reconnecting and merging back together. I just didn't want Gabriel being put back together so abrupt, like it just took a snap of the fingers and everything's fine and dandy. It wouldn't be that simple in my opinion. Mary is certainly... different than in the show – obviously; if anything, I see this as a potential side of her, where she puts being a mother before being a hunter. Sometimes that makes all the difference.


	13. Certain as the Sun

**Chapter 13**

 **Certain as the Sun**

Looking about the empty area, Sam frowned. Where was everyone?

It didn't take him long to find Dean, who was in the kitchen, making lunch. "Hey, where'd Mom go?"

Dean just shrugged. "She said she had to go out for a bit. Didn't say why," he told Sam, still focused on whatever was in the pot on the stove. Sam was pretty sure it was a soup. "Any cases?"

"Uh, no," Sam answered. "Do you want me to look for one?"

"Nah, just wandering… It'd be nice to leave the Bunker, get some fresh air. I've been in here for two weeks straight now," he huffed.

Sam had almost forgotten that. The older Winchester brother had been volunteering to hold down the fort while Sam usually went with Mary and Cas to go get supplies. It hadn't really occurred to Sam that Dean probably hadn't seen a ray of sunshine in those couple of weeks.

"I can stay here if you want to take the Impala—" he started before Dean promptly cut him off.

"I'm good, man. 'sides, someone's gotta watch over the kid while everyone's out," he said with a shrug. He then glanced over at Sam. "And when's the last time you took care of a little teenager? _Never_ , that's when."

Sam let out a scoff. "It can't be that hard, Dean. It'd be like taking care of anyone else."

Dean paused in his cooking, turning his head slightly to give Sam an incredulous look. He didn't say anything, but what he thought of Sam's statement was clear enough. Sam then turned around to leave since the conversation wasn't really going anywhere when Dean stopped him, a frown creasing his brow. "Hey, wait— you seen Cas?"

"Not since yesterday, no," Sam answered. "Why?"

"It's probably nothing," Dean said, shaking his head.

Sam nodded, leaving the room to think about what Dean mentioned before he'd stopped Sam from leaving the first time. As he walked down the concrete corridors, he passed Gabriel's room. A nagging feeling bugged him all the way to his own room before he went back to assuage his suspicions.

Sam let out a rather vivid string of swears. Those suspicions hadn't been for nothing. "Dean! Gabriel's gone!"

 **~o-O-o~**

Amber eyes silently tracked the young girl's path as she walked home, hugging her belongings close to her chest. He'd been watching her all day – not that he was stalking her. No, no, no – that would have been weird… and awkward. She was his little sister – _Gabriel Bennett's little sister_ – and he wanted to check up on her. That was it. Yeah, it did had nothing to do with anything besides the boy's request. None what so ever.

Gabriel shook his head slightly, breaking himself from those thoughts. Lucilia would be at the house soon. It would probably be best if he caught her outside instead of inside where he would look like an intruder.

It's not exactly like she would recognize him. Gabriel was a bit of a shape shifter ever since his days as Loki, and he had unconsciously taken the form of his old vessel once more. He wasn't a thirteen-year-old boy anymore after all.

Lucilia halted in her tracks when she saw him. Surprise and caution flitted throughout her soul. Gabriel was glad that she was at least sensible enough to be wary of a stranger, and yet he was sad that he was a stranger to her.

"W-who are you?"

A flash of a memory shot through his mind. He – _Bennett_ – had asked the exact same thing to Lucifer the morning after the boy had said yes. Gabriel found it somewhat amusing that Lucilia would mimic her brother that much.

"I—" Gabriel stopped suddenly. He couldn't tell her he was her Gabriel. It wouldn't be right of the archangel. "I'm a friend of your brother."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "How do you know Gabe?"

"We… met a while ago," he told her slowly. "He talked about you a lot."

That was a lie. Gabriel Bennett had sometimes thought about his little sister. He had mentioned her occasionally to Lucifer and the Winchesters and Castiel, but he didn't talk in abundance about Lucilia. Gabriel Bennett had _loved_ his little sister a lot.

Lucilia glanced around and then gestured at the door, walking over to it and opening it to let herself inside the house. Bringing the things he'd brought with him, Gabriel followed her inside and into the living room.

"Why are you here?" she asked in a quiet voice once they were both inside and she'd shut the door.

"He asked me to give you something." Why were those words so hard to get out? He was only doing as the boy had asked, so then why did it feel like he'd stuffed rocks down his throat or maybe swallowed burning coals?

Lucilia suddenly looked down and then away, her shoulders sagging. "He's dead, isn't he? Just like Dad," she said bitterly.

"Hey," Gabriel started defensively. "He was protecting you and your mom—"

"I know," she snapped. "But he wasn't supposed to die!"

Gabriel felt like he'd just got hit in the face with a bag of bricks. No, Gabriel Bennett wasn't supposed to die. He was supposed to live a happy life here with his family. He was supposed to go to college and get a Ph.D. He was supposed to be great, have a life.

Instead of replying, Gabriel picked up the smaller of the two boxes he had set behind him when he'd brought then in with him. Lucilia eyed the boxes warily, eyes flicking between them as she clutched her own stuff closer to her. "What's in them?" she asked a touch demandingly.

"See for yourself," Gabriel replied, opening the lid of the one in his hands.

Curious, hazel eyes looked down into the proffered box. Inside, Gabriel knew there were twenty-four postcards. Each one had a letter written to the girl. All were never sent, messages never delivered. Not until now.

Her eyes flickered back up to meet his. "These..?"

"Are all from your brother, yes," he told her with a slight nod. "He wanted you to have all of this. At first he was hoping to get a complete collection, and when... Well, when something happened, he just wanted to make sure you got them."

"I— I..."

Gabriel gave Lucilia a moment to collect herself. It was only fair that he let her handle this in her own way without any other interference from himself.

"Thank you," she said at last. Small, watery drops slipped down her cheeks. "Thank you for giving them to me."

And then she did was Gabriel hadn't been expecting. She rushed forward, dropping her stuff, and hugged him. The archangel stiffened, but Gabriel Bennett reveled in the familiar contact. Familiarity won out. Setting the box back down behind him on the larger case, Gabriel hugged her back.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered softly to her after a minute or so.

"It's okay," she whispered back. "It's not like you killed him."

Gabriel's heart practically stopped. "I might as well have," he got out, the words strangled in his throat.

He felt her head shift slightly at that, not that he was looking with his eyes squeezed shut. "Why are you blaming yourself for something you didn't do?"

"Because it's my fault— all of it," he confessed, breath stuttering out in gasps. "I— I left... I couldn't take it anymore. I-it hurt so much to see them fight, a-and then he killed me and he's back again and I let him in _again_ —"

Gabriel felt her shifting again, but she wasn't pulling away. Lucilia tightened her small embrace around him. "Don't do that, Gabe," she murmured softly to him.

Something snapped. Gabriel buried his nose in her soft hair as he let out a sob. Memories washed over him in steady waves – memories of joy, of love and happiness; memories of sorrow, of anger and bitterness. But they were all still _good_ memories. Memories of a life he cherished.

Sometime during the stream of memories, Gabriel found himself back in Gabriel Bennett's form. He should have expected it to happen with the return of the memories and the lesser personality coming forward. Either way, the shift happened, and Gabriel only felt more at home, being here with Lucilia.

" **You beautiful, beautiful human child,** " he murmured. The language of angels flowed from his tongue like a soft breeze brushing over plains of grass. The words echoed lightly about the room, resonating with the barest of touches of grace so Lucilia would know what he was saying. " **You have no idea how much you mean to me…** "

"I kept the letter, you know," she began quietly after several minutes of amiable silence. "You met Lucifer, didn't you?"

"How did you know?"

She gave a small shrug, still keeping her arms wrapped around him. "I heard you talking to him a couple times… I thought you were just being a bit weird, but after you left I went through your books and found that other note."

"So you put two and two together," he muttered into her hair. "I always knew my little sister was a smart cookie."

Lucilia laughed a little at that. The sound rang in Gabriel's ears, reminding him of wind chimes and bells. "And my big brother was always a willful numbskull," she teased.

"Your brother may not have been the brightest star in the sky when it came to some things, but he definitely knew how to choose a good family."

Lucilia finally broke the contact, pulling back to look up into her brother's familiar brown eyes. "I got to see my brother again," she told the archangel, bashfully looking down to where they were holding each other's hands. "You let me get closure. Thank you."

Amber eyes sparkling with emotion, Gabriel nodded his acknowledgment and got ready to leave, pausing when a thought occurred to him. "If you ever need anything, pray to me and I will come," he promised. And then he left without another word.

 **~o-O-o~**

Lucifer ignored Mary's gentle prodding. He knew she was just trying to see if he was alright – not that he was, not really. He felt numb, hollow. Nothing seemed to pique his interest at all. Not even Rowena's terms for doing the spell or whatever it was she was going to do.

Lucifer didn't care.

There wasn't a point for caring. It didn't matter anymore. None of it did.

Sure, he'd agreed to go along with getting himself a body of his own, but that had been for Mary's benefit more than anything else. He hadn't wanted to put her off, and she had been in her mother mode. She'd been trying to be helpful, and if Lucifer had been in a better mood, maybe that would have worked, but he wasn't feeling it.

It was all so… _dull_. It being life – everything.

What did he want to do now? That was something Gabriel would have asked him. The boy had liked to include Lucifer in the decision making aspects of what they would do on one of the days they'd been touring around the country. It was something that helped keep Lucifer entertained as they went to different places. The boy had also like to ask him that in some weird form of self-reflection for Lucifer.

That was something Gabriel had cared about – what Lucifer thought about something, specifically himself. Did Lucifer like certain things? What about this new thing? Did he still hate these aspects? Was he indifferent to them? How did Lucifer view himself? _What did he want?_

So many questions that Lucifer wasn't really sure of the answers to. It wasn't like he could pull an answer from something he might have said before G— before the boy.

He shook his head. He had to stop thinking like that. He had to stop associating those two terms together. They weren't the same anymore. Gabriel Bennett was Gabriel the archangel, yes, but Gabriel wasn't the Gabriel Lucifer had been spending time with for the past seven months.

Seven months that had felt like an eternity. Seven months that had slipped by in the blink of an eye. Seven months he wished had been so much longer.

Lucifer curled himself tighter together, his grace cringing at the compactness. But he didn't care about that. He just wanted to make it all go away. He wanted the _hurt_ to go away.

It hurt like it had when Michael denied him, turned away from him and threw him into the Cage. It hurt as much as it did when Chuck left again. It hurt more than when Lucifer ran Gabriel threw with his own blade. It was pain – of heartbreak, of loss, of grief – and he was drowning in it.

 **~o-O-o~**

"Ya know, I knew you two muttonheads were still as bull-headed as ever, but is it really that hard to see what's right in front of you?" a painfully familiar voice drawled.

"Gabriel?" Sam and Dean both cried in unison as they also both turn in unison to said voice.

"Ten points to Gryffindor! Wait— you're not brave so much as… I don't know, but you two wouldn't be Slytherin either… Now, Sam I could see as a Ravenclaw, so I guess Dean would be a Hufflepuff? Yeah, that works," Gabriel rambled on in his weird tangent.

Sam and Dean stared at him, glancing at each other momentarily before going back to staring at the obviously-very-much-so archangel in front of them. There was no denying that this was _Gabriel_ , the one they'd met first – Trickster, archangel and all. _Gabriel_ , who was sitting on the edge of the map-of-the-world table in the war room, swinging his legs back and forth like a bored kid.

"But I digress," the archangel exclaimed after another minute or so of going on about why Sam would be a Ravenclaw and Dean would be a Hufflepuff. To be honest, Gabriel did have some pretty good points. "So what have you two yahoos been doing while I was out?"

"Where have you been?!" Dean huffed in a burst of outrage.

The archangel's head tilted to the side, eyes looking out to Gabriel's right. "That kinda depends on what you're asking. I mean, _I've_ been gone for a while— dead an' all. Bennett is pretty much gone too. But if you're talking about _today_ , then I was on my own personal run," he answered.

Sam was marginally surprised that they'd actually gotten an answer, but it was something Gabriel said that elicited a brand of worry in him. "What about Gabriel, the kid? What happened to him?"

Amber eyes met Sam's for an uncharacteristically hesitant moment before skittering away. Two fingers tapped the side of Gabriel's head. "He's still up here. Just hidden behind my awesome personality." He then muttered something that neither Sam nor Dean caught.

"So… he's not _gone_ gone..?"

"No, he's not dead," Gabriel spelled out, stepping all over Dean's euphemism. "It's not like I have a reason to destroy that part of me— _because that kid_ was _me_. Yeah, I ripped him out ages ago, and now I'm not dead because of him. Why would I do something I couldn't do back then?"

"Um… because he said yes to Lucifer," Sam said, questioning his own answer.

Gabriel blinked and gave them a weird look. "I kicked that asshole out like a day ago."

It was Sam and Dean's turn to blink and make a face. They glanced at each other, passing a questioning look. Dean shrugged the 'I don't know what you're talking about' shrug when Sam gave him the 'what aren't you telling me' bitch face.

"As cute as you two are when you do the silent sibling conversations, it'd be great if you filled me in on where my dickish big bro went," Gabriel cut in, making his annoyed tone clear as day.

"You're being more of a dick than he was when you were… the kid," Dean muttered, stumbling slightly at getting which Gabriel he was referring to correct.

"Okay," Gabriel exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in surrender before letting them fall back into his lap. "Okay, _fine_ — I guess I'm not allowed to hold a grudge against the guy who killed me now."

"It's not that," Sam interrupted, raising a placating hand. "It's just— we didn't think—"

"You better bet that you didn't think," Gabriel scoffed. "Leviathan? The angels falling? The Mark of Cain? Amara? What the hell did you two _think_ you were doing? There were flashy warning signs all over those things!"

Out of the corner of Sam's eye, he saw Dean bristled at that. "Not like you would've helped out anyways," he retorted. "You'd have been up on some cloud, laughing your ass off at everything we did."

Sam inwardly added on to the statement. Gabriel probably would have messed with them, a lot. He'd also probably have eaten through all of the chocolate factories in the world by now. That was a conclusion made by that _Bennett_ – as the archangel was referring to the kid by – was a bit of stress eater, and the kid happened to eat tons of chocolate when he was anxious. Sam supposed the kid must have had a high metabolism to eat that much chocolate even before Lucifer came along.

Speaking of chocolate, Gabriel had just snapped up a handful of small Reese's peanut butter cups. The wrappers made soft crinkling noise as Gabriel perfectly unwrapped the candy. A spike of jealously ran through Sam. Not once had he ever unwrapped a Reese's without some of the chocolate coming off with the wrapper.

"Uh, news flash, Deano— I was dead. How many times do I have to say it? And I wouldn't have been able to help you either way! Busting my pagan cover didn't exactly do me any favors," Gabriel huffed defiantly.

"You left part of your grace in the DVD you gave us," Sam inputted in a level tone. "You knew that those other pieces of yourself would come back together at some point."

"And what a happy coincidence that Team Free Will managed to put me back together without any serious damage," the archangel deadpanned with a roll of his eyes, sticking another peanut butter cup in his mouth.

"You planned it, didn't you," Dean accused, pointing a finger at Gabriel.

"Planned? No," Gabriel said with a shake of his head. "Set things in place so that it could happen? Eh," he added on, shrugging.

"So what are you going to do now?" Sam asked a touch hesitantly. He didn't want to give Gabriel any wild ideas.

Gabriel made a face, eyes scanning the room. With his free hand (and increasingly obvious to be on a whim), the archangel snapped his fingers. "That just upgraded warding of this place, which is for putting me back together. The exact details are on Sam's bed." He snapped his fingers again. "That was me taking inventory of like everything in this motherlode of supernatural stuff and giving a free restocking your humanly supplies. Again, the inventory list'll be on Sam's bed."

Before Sam could say anything about why this was all going to him or why the archangel was even doing it in the first place, Gabriel hopped off the table and walked off, headed towards the bedrooms. Sam found himself a little too stunned by it all now that the subject of the matter had just left the room.

"What the hell?" Dean stated out of nowhere, voicing Sam's own thoughts. "I'm not kidding, dude. What the actual freaking hell?"

"I don't know," Sam muttered his answer.

* * *

 **A/N: So** **originally I thought I was going to have to make up some excuse about Lucifer getting a body for himself… then** _**Family Feud**_ **aired. So really, I'm going to use that Crowley did have Nick ready for Lucifer, but in this story Rowena was taking care of the body..? Eh, this is the best explanation you'll get for it. Also (now that I've watched** _ **Something Between Heaven and Hell**_ **), Luci won't be having all of those 'improvements' that Crowley had added on for his revenge scheme. It just doesn't fit here.**

 **Okay, now next chapter is where it really does get to the point of borderline slash. I swear, it's not meant to come off as an actual romance between the two, but if you really,** _ **really**_ **want to read it that way… be my guest. (hehehe, see what I did there?)**

 ** _On a random side note_ : I was looking at the stats for this fic and the first chapter has the most views at 700-ish (which makes sense because it's what opens for the whole story before you skip over to the latest chapter), and most of the rest of the chapters have 150+ views per. But, oddly enough, the longest chapter there is (Ch9) has 149 views. I wonder why that is. It has to be that either people are rereading all the other chapters without going back to look at that one too or people are skipping over it entirely. Weird.**

Last edited: [May 24, 2018]

* * *

 **Broken Twisted Lullabies:** Getting an emotional response is my life goal (for fanfiction anyway) – simply moving someone is just empowering. Unfortunately, we won't be seeing Lucilia again in this fic, though she is mentioned. She's been one of my favorite OCs to write mainly because she just works so well with Gabriel. She already went through the loss of her dad leaving, and this time she was at least able to understand why her brother left and accept that. Well, it looks like thing are starting to look up for our dear Luci. He takes it all like a pro.


	14. Rising in the East

**Chapter 14**

 **Rising in the East**

Gabriel sat on his bed, waiting. Amber eyes stared blankly at the wall. A small touch of life flickered through them just before he let out a soft sigh. He brought his knees up to his chest, crossing his ankles and resting his head down on his crossed arms that he had positioned on top of his knees.

If his wings had been on the physical plane, they would have been wrapped around him, shrouding him from the world. But they weren't even close to being visible to the human eye. He briefly wondered if they looked different. Were they still a glowing ethereal gold that shone like the Sun? Did each feather still have the same shimmering luster?

He closed his eyes at the thoughts and shook his head. That didn't matter right now. What did matter was that he made sure that he was ready. He didn't know when Lucifer would come, just that he would – eventually – and Gabriel had to be ready for the confrontation that would occur.

He hoped that the humans were all right about how Lucifer was… different. He trusted them – _Bennett more than any of the rest_ – but there was still that lingering doubt. That one part of him that still couldn't let it go.

A craving for chocolate hit him. This would be the third one in the last two hours. At first he had assuaged the needs with the Reese's peanut butter cups, then M&M's, Kit-Kats, Twix, Hershey's chocolate bars (both milk chocolate and cookies an' cream)– Maybe he should try Snickers this time…

Gabriel opened his eyes and glanced over at all of the candy wrappers littering the bed sheets. On second thought, maybe he should try to curb his sweet tooth or at least clean up his mess. The archangel sent an amber eyed glare over at the wrappers, which all promptly burst into isolated, mini-bonfires. They reminded Gabriel of marshmallows that had caught aflame and burned into nothing but ash and dust.

He blinked. That thought had been a bit more depressing than he had meant it to turn out. But it was true, the wrappers were gone before even a minute of time passed. Gabriel let out another sigh. He nestled his face into the crook his crossed arms made and shut his eyes again.

It was quiet.

In a way, the archangel was used to the silence. He had spent millennia apart from his siblings – not completely cut off from them but still disconnected, alone. But the boy and his many lives before had grown up surrounded by people. His world had constantly been abuzz with things and people from so many times and places.

Gabriel Bennett had found comfort and joy in Lucifer's presence. Lucifer was his _brother_. The youngest archangel found himself envious of the boy. It didn't matter that they were one in the same. They were still different – maybe _too_ different...

 _Would Lucifer see it that way?_

" _The way he sees us shouldn't matter,_ " the boy's voice echoed softly in his head.

"That's easy for you to say," Gabriel muttered. "You're not real anymore."

" _I'm real to you,_ " the boy pointed out.

Hugging his knees a little closer to himself, Gabriel let out a scoff. "And? It just goes to show that I'm still not all there in the head."

" _Well, if Sam and Dean didn't have that disc, then we'd be outright insane. I think I'm a great side effect… even if_ you're _the one making me up,_ " the boy mused.

"Your commentary is appreciated," Gabriel said, opening his eyes and taking in the real world, which ultimately dispelled his illusions of the boy.

He should stop doing that. It wasn't exactly healthy. While sanity was a bit overrated, being crazy wasn't something Gabriel wanted to be, and talking to himself wasn't a good sign. Though didn't geniuses talk to themselves sometimes? Wait, not the point.

Gabriel let out a frustrated huff. Why did this all have to be so complicated? Why couldn't things just be even the slightest bit simpler? Like, it'd be great if Lucifer would hurry up and come back so they could talk. But _no_ , Lucifer was out doing... something and taking his sweet ass time while doing it.

Lucifer wouldn't even need a vessel to come see Gabriel, and the youngest archangel wouldn't have minded making one for his older brother for a talk like this if Lucifer really needed one... Okay, so maybe Lucifer didn't know that and he might be a little butthurt after Gabriel forcefully kicked him out, but come on! Gabriel had only been gone for a day— what was taking Lucifer so long?

"Hey, Gabriel?"

The archangel's eyes snapped up to see Sam Winchester standing in the doorway. What could the giant possibly want? Gabriel had made sure that the details about the warding and inventory were clear even if they were a bit excessive. He told Sam as much.

The younger Winchester brother shifted awkwardly, his hazel eyes looking away at the opposite wall. "You've been in here since yesterday, and we were wondering if you knew what happened to Lucifer," Sam responded.

Gabriel blinked. It had already been another day? Crap, he was losing track of time. Right, that meant he had to start paying attention to either his internal clock or the digital one on the night stand. To be honest, if he was left alone longer than a day again, he would probably lose that whole day – whether he paid attention or not.

"Mom and Cas left the other day. Do you think he might be with them?" Sam went on to ask.

 _Right— Focus!_ Gabriel reprimanded himself. "I don't see why not…" Gabriel rolled his eyes at Sam's questioning glare. "I mean he could be. Part of the bloodline for Lucifer's vessels runs through the Campbell family, and Castiel has already proven himself capable of holding Lucifer for an extended amount of time," Gabriel explained, shifting into a more comfortable position with his legs in crisscross-applesauce position and placing his hands on his knees in a passive manner.

"Cas wouldn't say yes to him again."

"Well then big bro better find another vessel fast because Momma Winchester will burn out faster than marshmallows." Again with the marshmallow comparison? Next time he got a craving, he should try roasted marshmallows instead of chocolate – that might solve the odd thoughts about burning puffs of sugar.

Sam leveled a rather intense bitch face on Gabriel because of the comment, but the human didn't say anything for another minute until Gabriel starting fidgeting and looking around the room, not meeting Sam's eyes. "You're nervous about Lucifer, aren't you."

"No shit, Sherlock," Gabriel retorted, not even bothering to deny the observation.

"Why are you nervous?"

Gabriel let out a scoff. " _Hello-o!_ Ex-dead archangel!"

"But you're also still Gabriel Bennett, aren't you? You shouldn't have anything to worry about. He wouldn't be able to hurt you."

"And why's that, huh?"

Sam made a face, frowning. "Dean might be able to explain this... better, but..." Sam paused to sigh. "Lucifer considered you – kid you – a little brother even before _you_."

"O-kay..." Gabriel said, drawing out the word. There was a brief moment of glancing between Sam's face and the hand the human had gestured at him with.

"Look, Lucifer _built_ something with Gabriel Bennett. They became brothers in a human way. The kid gave Lucifer something that he wasn't able to find for a really long time... Lucifer _cannot_ hurt you not only because you are his little brother doubly over but also because you are still Gabriel Bennett. _You_ gave him a _family_."

Gabriel's eyes trailed slowly downwards to his lap, his posture deflating. "I know," he admitted quietly.

"Then why are you nervous? " Sam asked again, this time much more gently.

"I don't know, Dr. Phil. You tell me since you seem to know me so well," Gabriel snapped as a flare of irritation came over him. "I just don't know," he added more calmly after a moment.

"Well... if you want to talk, Dean and I are usually in the main areas. You don't have to sit here alone," Sam told him.

Gabriel only nodded sharply, just wanting Sam to leave. When the Winchester finally did, Gabriel curled back up into the same position he'd been in before Sam had come in. Head resting on his arms, knees pulled up to his chest, Gabriel continued to wait.

 **~o-O-o~**

Somehow Rowena had managed to put him back into Nick – whose body was new and improved, or something. That was... okay, he guessed. Maybe on another day he woke have been a bit more happy about it. But today he just quietly walked out the door before they could ask him anything.

He stood outside for a while. He stood there trying to focus on the new sensations being perceived by and coming from the body. Most things were... heightened, he supposed. That made sense. This was technically _his_ body now.

Mary and Castiel came out sometime after him, and Mary drove everyone back to the Bunker. He was fine with sitting in the backseat. It let him just look out the window without being disturbed.

He was debating with himself on whether or not he should just leave when Mary parked the car in the garage of the Bunker. He still sat there silently even as Mary opened the car door after Castiel had left the vicinity. He cast his eyes over her form, scanning her in a way.

Impulsively, he reached out to touch her left temple. He jerked his hand back just before contact, but then Mary gently took his hand and placed it where he'd been meaning for it to go. At her trusting nod, he healed any damage he'd accidentally left behind from taking her as a vessel – even as minor as it was.

It was then that he realized this was the first time this body had touched another being without malicious intent. Letting out a shaky breath, he pulled his hand back to himself, looking away. But then Mary reached out to him, coaxing him out of the car, pulling him out of his dark corner, guiding him away from his depression.

Later – much later – he would look back and associate that moment to when he finally recognized Mary as the mother figure he'd never had before. Gabriel would tease him for not realizing it sooner. Dean would look appalled, and Sam would raise questioning eyebrow. Castiel would just go on as he normally would. Mary would be taken aback before giving him one of those looks and then hugging him.

But that wouldn't be for a while yet. For now, he simply let her walk him through the Bunker's corridors, aimlessly following behind her and not really caring where she was taking him. Distantly, his mind observed that the hallways would be like a labyrinth to those who didn't know the way.

It was almost like how his thoughts were scattered about the far reaches of his mind. He didn't have use for them, so then why should he hold them close? Why should he bring forth pain he didn't have to bear? And so, he didn't.

A bitter part of him longed to seek the soothing balm of simply letting his emotions run wild and rampant, to let his rage and hate carve a mark deep within the Earth and decimate the human populations with war and blight. This side of him was mad with the need for vengeance. It wanted them to pay – them _all_ to pay. If he couldn't have what he desired, then why should anyone else? Why should they get to keep what was ripped away from him?

Such thoughts were only reciprocated by a renewed loathing for mankind. None of them knew – they were all oblivious to the loss of a brilliant being. They would never be able to understand just how important Gabriel Bennett was. Ignorant fools, the lot of them.

But this was all white noise in the pandemonium of roaring, unbridled chaos. It was a thundering monster that plundered troves of precious memories, scrapping them and leaving them hollow.

Above all, he was tired. He was just so damn tired of it all.

Nothing made sense anymore. He wanted to be alone but not lonely. He wanted his family but not his brothers. He wanted to think without feeling. He wanted to feel without hurting. He wanted— he wanted… He wanted many things, but he knew they would just slip through his fingers… again.

"Lucifer?" Mary called to him softly.

The archangel blinked, picking his gaze up off the floor to meet her own concerned stare. He noted that they were still in the hallway but standing directly outside of a room – the door to which was slightly ajar.

"Sam said there's someone who wants to see you," she continued after a moment, clear blue eyes watching him carefully.

Should he have been at least a little be worried that he'd missed an entire conversation between mother and son while he'd been… deep in thought? Perhaps it should have bothered him, but it didn't. Nothing much seemed to now either way.

Mary was saying something else, but all that reached his ears were muffled impersonations of noise. He caught the sorrowful look that crossed her face before she turned to leave. He supposed that it was fitting. Everyone left him at some point or another. It was only a matter of time.

 _Dammit_ — damn it all! Damn his pride! Damn his arrogance! Damn his anger and hate! They brought nothing but pain and suffering – to others and to himself. What was the use of any of it if he could never have true happiness?

"Careful— With the way you're broadcasting those thoughts, who knows what might hear them," a voice lightly teased.

He tensed. How long had it been since he'd heard such musical chords? Had it really only been seven human years since the melodic tunes had turned to the dissonant sound of death, broken into a screaming silence? How could _he_ stand to look at him? _He_ had already shunned him once— did _he_ have to shove it all in his face?

"What? Nothing to say?" the youngest archangel mused with a careful air of nonchalance, leaning on the door frame. A slight frown then creased his brow. "You really have just kind of shut down, huh?"

The golden-haired being strode forward, covering the short distance between them. Bright amber eyes were mere inches away from dull blue. Those eyes— they were so _alive_. Older, perhaps, than what he remembered of them, but still light with hints of mischief… still knowing, thoughtful, kind. And yet, he could place a sadness within those amber orbs.

"I broke you, didn't I?"

He couldn't help but cringe at the statement. Was it that pitifully obvious? But then of course it was. If anything, it was all too simple. The great and mighty Lucifer brought low by a human boy – a human boy that turned out to be his little brother, whom he had killed not even a decade ago. What a story that would be— it would make him a laughing stock!

Gabriel's eyes narrowed, his frown deepening. Another, smaller, step forward. He could feel Gabriel's soft breaths brushing against his skin, and there was a warmth that radiated from the youngest archangel. While his two younger siblings didn't burn as hot as Michael, they were all still much warmer than the naturally cold second archangel.

"Lucifer..." Gabriel started slowly as if he were about to confess all of his sins to him.

He was suddenly hit with an internalized bout of mad hysteria – a fit of crazed laughter and wild thoughts that twisted and turned all throughout his mind. None of this showed outwardly.

"Lucifer," Gabriel said a bit more cautiously. Amber eyes flickered to the left – Gabriel's right – before coming back to lock with blue. A small, mischievous smile briefly flickered across Gabriel's face. "Let's go somewhere a bit more private— whaddya say?"

It was the older archangel's turn to frown now. The confusion passing across his face quickly turned to shock as Gabriel grabbed him by his jacket's lapels and pulled him into the room, the door slamming shut with a loud _thud_.

"That'll teach Sam for spying," Gabriel exclaimed triumphantly with a full out grin plastered on his face. "As much as I love the Sasquatch's concern for _moi_ , some things are a little too personal to discuss around certain ears."

Gabriel had let go of his lapels now, stepping back a small distance. Already, Lucifer missed the contact of earlier – as limited as it had been. Still, he took in every second of this. He didn't know how much time he might have left with his little brother.

A bemused expression crossed Gabriel's face. "What?" he asked pointedly. "You would've done the same thing… Well, okay, maybe you would've been less suggestive about it, but still! Either way, you gotta admit— having Sammich listen in on this stuff would just kill the mood."

To put it simply, Lucifer was confused. He hadn't expected… this. Sarcasm, of course. Bitterness, more than likely. Anger, definitely. Hate, a possibility. Apathy, not likely but he wouldn't have been surprised. Nonchalance, less likely to happen. Concern, he didn't deserve that. Love, that was ludicrous.

But it radiated off of Gabriel in steady, broad waves. Lucifer could choke on the intensity of each one. Each colored with another emotion, and not one of them held malice against him.

Gabriel let out an exaggerated sigh, breaking the stiff silence in the room. "Well, since I guess you're not going to say anything, I'll go first…"

Lucifer braced himself for whatever was about to come. He was ready to take any scathing remark, any half-assed comment, any bittersweet words. And if Gabriel told him to leave – again – then he would. For good this time.

"So I was thinking about it," Gabriel started off, gesticulating animatedly with his hands and arms, looking anywhere but at Lucifer. "And you're still a total douchewad for killing me. You know, I think getting stabbed in the chest only hurt half as much as the fact that _you_ killed me. And that— _that_ doesn't even cover how much of an asshole you are for starting all that shit with the Apocalypse.

"You can be _the most_ pigheaded moron on the planet— in the freaking universe! It took a kid— _a twelve-year-old_ to get you into the mindset of at least not wanting to kill all the humans on the spot. _What the hell?_ Why couldn't you have just left them alone in the first place?!" the youngest archangel ranted.

"But that's not the point— the thing is…" Gabriel trailed off. He had to stop his movement, taking in a deep breath to reign in his raging emotions, before fully meeting Lucifer's gaze. "Lucifer, you're my brother, and I love you… Nothing— _nothing_ will _ever_ change that."

* * *

 **A/N: Hmm... Have I mentioned how much I love to mess with these characters? It's just so fun to break them down and then turn around give them hugs and fluff! And I** **swear – I'm not updating whenever I get a review (that's petty; Broken Twisted Lullabies just happens to review the day of or day before I post a chapter). It's just that the weekend is currently the only time I have to update. (Aren't you people happy that when I posted this on April Fools that it wasn't a trick at all? I bet I just made some people's days.)**

 **Only one actual chapter left people!**

Last edited: [May 24, 2018]

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 **Tripod Gal:** Neither do I! (｡-﹏-｡) But the curtain hasn't fallen yet! •̀.̫•́✧


	15. Tale as Old as Time

**Chapter 15**

 **Tale as Old as Time**

" _'That's what you get for spying. XOXO_ _—_ _Gabriel'_?" Dean looked up from the note to his little brother, momentarily glancing between the two, snorted and then promptly burst out laughing.

Sam, though he had turned his face away, was still blushing furiously with an impressive scowl marring his expression. He hadn't meant to _spy_ on the two archangels. He'd only meant to see if they were going to need an extra push (not unlike how Sam and Dean had to work to get Lucifer and Chuck to talk) when Mary came into the main area looking downcast.

Gabriel was the one who had gotten intimately close to Lucifer when Sam rounded the corner. Sam couldn't help but just stare at the two as the amber-eyed archangel whispered something to the older archangel, and then Gabriel rather seductively pulled Lucifer into his room – something that Sam hoped he would be able to bleach from his mind. He did not need the image of those two doing… _things_ in Gabriel's room.

Of course, right as the door slammed shut, a bomb of glitter and confetti went off over Sam's head, a note falling from nowhere with it all. Much to his chagrin, Sam couldn't get all of the glitter out of his hair, and he'd had to walk into the library to meet Dean and Cas with the sparkly dust particles adorning his mane of hair. When his brother asked what the hell had happened, Sam only handed over the note.

"So they're good then?" Dean asked after regaining his breath. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face. Sam's hair... Dean started cracking up again when he saw that there was a new addition to the glitter.

Sam frowned, getting worried when Dean pointed at his head as he was too busy laughing to actually say anything. "What?" Sam huffed.

Realizing that Dean wasn't any help, Sam turned to Cas, but the angel only stared, eyes slightly wider than normal. Sam let out a frustrated growl and left in search of a mirror. Finally making it into a bathroom, Sam stared at his reflection, horror flooding through Sam's being.

Sam would give Gabriel and Lucifer a little time to sort out their issues, but— o _h, it was on._

 **~o-O-o~**

Gabriel stared at his older brother. Then he nervously started glancing off to the sides of the room. _Come on, it wasn't that unbelievable, was it? I mean,_ sure _, I kind of just dropped it all on him…_ Gabriel thought to himself. _Still…_

" _Give him a moment,_ " the boy's voice whispered in Gabriel's ear.

 _I know, I know—_ Gabriel thought back. _I just— I feel like he doesn't believe me…_

" _Hug him,_ " Bennett's voice suggested suddenly, pronouncing the words as if they were the answer to everything.

 _What— why?_ Gabriel was answered by a series of memories – of Lucilia hugging him only a day ago, of Bennett receiving a hug from both of his parents, of a past life hugging his children. Okay, so maybe hugs were important and super powerful. Wait— was he really considering to do what the voice in his head told him to? Oh, what the hell—

Gabriel closed the distance between him and Lucifer in less than a second, leaving no time for his brother to react. Wrapping his arms around Lucifer and pulling him close, Gabriel buried his face into Lucifer's shoulder, shutting his eyes to relish the moment sometime along the way. Gabriel reached out with his grace, too; he blanketed them in it.

On the physical plane, Gabriel could feel the coolness of Lucifer's vessel lowly radiating from underneath layers of clothing. He could feel the tenseness of the way Lucifer held himself. He could feel the hesitance, the shock and disbelief running through Lucifer's system.

Beyond the physical plane, the archangel could feel the tired presence of Lucifer's grace. He could feel the rugged and mindless structure of his brother's thoughts. He could feel how Lucifer seemed to pull into himself.

But Gabriel was there, and Gabriel Bennett was still a part of the archangel. Gabriel Bennett was a bit of a spontaneous and impulsive little tyke. Gabriel Bennett also had a very affectionate and determined mindset. If he felt that someone needed help, he would be there. If he knew that someone needed support, he would be there to anchor them.

And so, Gabriel held on tightly. He let Lucifer know that he wasn't letting go, that he was still there. Gabriel let himself be Lucifer's anchor in the midst of a raging storm.

" **I'm alright, Lucifer,** " he murmured in the first language he learned. Age-old memories of soft yet resonant words welcoming him to existence echoed in the back of his head. Newer memories of gentle goodbyes and sacred promises filled the rest of the space. " **I'm fine... It'll all be okay.** "

Lucifer started to relax – albeit slowly – as the words finally registered to him. Gabriel felt fragments of his brother's mind and grace weave back together. He felt the movement of Lucifer's arms as his brother returned the embrace.

And finally, Lucifer spoke. " **Little brother…** "

" _See, Lucifer,_ " a boy's voice called softly. " _I'm still here._ "

Lucifer jerked at the sound of Gabriel Bennett's voice, and then he held on all the more fiercely to the boy he had come to love. "Oh, Gabriel, I missed you."

The boy let out a small laugh. "I was never gone. I'm here, remember?"

Gabriel found himself moving to put a hand over Lucifer's heart. In the back of his mind, he registered that Dean would be shying away from the chick-flick-ness; Sam might have made a knowing nod with a slight smile (well, he would have if Gabriel hadn't glitter bombed him); maybe Cas would have been proud of Gabriel and Lucifer finally reconciling; Mary definitely would be happy.

"Hmm... I must have forgotten," Lucifer hummed, a grin growing on his face. "It's hard to remember some things when you get old."

" _What?_ You're not _that_ old," Gabriel played along. "Besides, it'll be hard for you to forget now. I'm not going anywhere," he said, pulling away slightly so that chocolate brown eyes could meet sparkling blue.

"Good."

The boy simply smiled and went back to hugging Lucifer, his face burying into Lucifer's chest rather than shoulder because of the new height difference. He liked this – the hug. He wanted it to last forever, and while he knew that wasn't going to happen, he would definitely cherish this forever.

Brown eyes blinked sadly, the boy still relishing the feeling of being in Lucifer's cool arms. The archangel part of him had stepped back for the boy to come forward, but the dominant personality was having a hard time staying back. It wasn't because the archangel didn't want the boy in front but more that it was just how large the archangel was compared to the boy. Gabriel Bennett, though crucially important, was practically insignificant next to the archangel.

Gabriel pulled away from Lucifer, and amber eyes stared at his brother's form as Lucifer let his arms drops back down to his sides. In a way, they were at an impasse. He certainly didn't know what to do now, and he doubted that Lucifer did either.

"Gabriel, I—"

Said archangel put up his hand, cutting off whatever Lucifer was about to say. "If you were about to apologize for killing me, you can stop right there, big bro. I got over that a while ago," Gabriel told him with a slightly sheepish smile.

Lucifer frowned a bit at that, probably wondering why Gabriel went on that rant earlier then. The answer to that would have been because Gabriel had to let those emotions loose and put them out in the open. After all, keeping that kind of stuff inside to simmer wasn't exactly healthy.

"That's not—"

Gabriel lowered his hand, but he still cut Lucifer off. This time with words. "Well, then keep going," he said, the sheepish smile turning into an impish grin.

Lucifer gave him a look that was borderline annoyed; beyond that was an amused glimmer. He then let out a soft scoff and shook his head, a small smile of his own twitching its way onto his face. "Don't ever stop surprising me, Gabriel."

"That's not what you were going to say," Gabriel observed, blinking at his brother with a mildly confused expression. Curiosity only increased as Lucifer shook his head in agreement of the statement. Gabriel gestured for him to say it then.

"You already know what I was going to say," Lucifer told him cryptically.

Gabriel made a face, annoyance mixing with the confusion. "No, not really, bro."

Lucifer stepped forward, closing the gap between them not unlike Gabriel had done twice before. But Gabriel could tell Lucifer was holding back as he didn't touch Gabriel, keeping his hands firmly attached to his person as leaned even closer to whisper into Gabriel's ear.

"Thank you, brother... for everything."

 **~o-O-o~**

Mary stopped, took a couple steps back and did a double take on what she was looking at. Why was Sam's hair..?

"Hey, Mom! Can you help me with this?" Sam asked, gaze turning to meet hers.

Mary sputtered for a moment. "Your hair..."

Sam ran his fingers through said hair, making a face of annoyed disgust when he looked down at his hand to see glitter all over it. "Yeah, that's Gabriel for you," he muttered, brushing the glitter off with a towel he had nearby.

"You said..." Mary trailed off, trying to remember Sam's exact words about Gabriel leaving and coming back to the Bunker after he'd woken up. "But he wouldn't..."

"Well, this Gabriel is also the Trickster. He's got a wicked and sometimes deadly sense of humor, though he usually only targets people who deserve it. It's also where he gets his sweet tooth from," Sam informed her.

Mary knew that. She knew about tricksters and that her sons had encountered Gabriel posing as one. So the prank itself didn't surprise her. It was just that she hadn't thought that Gabriel – the Gabriel she knew – would do… _this_. It was just so… childish?

The amount of glitter in Sam's hair was a little excessive in her opinion, but the now bright pink hue of his hair was definitely over the top. Though, Mary had to admit that the ribbons were the finishing touch. She had no doubt in her mind that Dean had laughed at his brother's appearance. Sam seemed to be taking it rather well too.

"What did you do… exactly?" she asked, slightly hesitant to get an answer.

"He thinks I was spying or something," Sam said reluctantly. He then turned to what looked like a hose. "Assuming that we're even for everything else, this is adequate payback."

"Samuel Winchester, you are not starting a prank war in this Bunker," Mary told her son firmly.

"It'll only be war if he retaliates," Sam muttered, glancing away from his mother's hard and reprimanding scowl.

Mary could tell that Sam was more than tempted to let his vindictive side out and claim justice for his hair – along with making sure that it was turned back to normal. "Sam, listen," she started slowly, her voice much more gentle as she moved to place a hand over his. "Let me talk to him first, and if your hair isn't… better after that, then you can have at him. Just don't start anything yet."

Mary gave Sam a look when he didn't agree at first, but then he slowly nodded his head, shoulders slumping slightly. As Mary walked out of the room, headed back to the library to meet with Castiel, she couldn't help but still feel a bit worried. Maybe if she couldn't get Gabriel to change Sam's hair back, she could get Lucifer to do it instead – on the grounds that it was the right thing to do, of course, and not because she just really did not want to deal with a prank war.

 **~o-O-o~**

Lucifer could feel it. A warm pulsing sensation just beside his heart, connected to his grace. It was comforting to feel it there. It reminded him of a time long ago before the humans or even the other angels – of when He had just created Heaven for them to live in. It felt like home, and it was.

Gabriel shifted next to him, leaning a bit more into Lucifer's side and resting his head against Lucifer's shoulder. The older archangel only responded by wrapping an arm around Gabriel's shoulders and pulling him closer. Humming contentedly, the younger closed his eyes, relaxing further in his brother's steadfast presence. They had moved outside of the Bunker to settle down on the edge of the top part of the concrete entrance to the Bunker, a long but amiable silence being drawn between them.

 _This is nice,_ Lucifer thought. He liked this – the peace that came with the soft quiet. It wasn't at all like the eerie hush the came when he was truly alone or the harsh air within the Cage that fell suddenly and deadly to bring a rush of deafening silence and all the torturous screams of traitorous damnations. No, this was a refreshing quiet.

One that was soon broken by the resonant tones of Gabriel's voice. "It's beautiful," he whispered quietly.

Lucifer ran his hand down and back up Gabriel's arm. In a similar, hushed murmur, Lucifer asked, "What is?"

"The bond," Gabriel answered softly, shifting once more. This time though, Lucifer also felt a similar shift brush against his grace. _The bond_. "It's nothing like what you had with Michael… but it's still more than what we ever had before."

Lucifer blinked, looking down at his little brother. What was he supposed to say to that? Lucifer didn't respond – he couldn't. So, instead, he sent back a brush of his own, one of warm reassurance and familial love, and began carding a hand through Gabriel's honey colored hair as he went back to staring past the night sky to what lay beyond the physical plane of existence.

It made sense now. It made sense that Gabriel Bennett had been able to form an angelic bond – slight as it was – with Lucifer. Of course a piece of an archangel's being would be able to unconsciously rekindle something from long ago. It just went to show how purposefully ignorant Lucifer had been to the obvious facts that were all right in front of him the whole time.

After a while – he wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed, just that it had, though it couldn't have been long – Lucifer felt another brush along with a question come from over the bond. " _What now?_ "

There was so much that those two words meant – so much that was behind them. There was an odd detachment from the question but also a desperate plead for an answer. Trepidation and anxiousness clashed with contentment and indifference. And the full question that had been asked: _what's going to happen now?_

"I don't know," Lucifer answered honestly, pausing in his movements of sliding his fingers through Gabriel's hair. "I haven't really thought about it," he admitted.

Gabriel let out a soft snort of amusement before settling back into his relaxed state. "Yeah, well, neither have I," he mumbled. "Think we should just wing it?"

A slight twitch of a smile fought its way onto Lucifer's face at the wordplay. Whether the pun had been intentional or not (though Lucifer was sure that it was intentional), Gabriel had still offered a valid suggestion. But Lucifer didn't have any real answer.

"I don't know," Lucifer said again. "I don't know."

"Just what _do_ you know?" Gabriel chuckled, finally opening his amber eyes to look up at his brother.

Lucifer stopped to think about his response. He then pulled Gabriel a little closer for a moment in a short, reassuring (more for himself than Gabriel) squeeze. "I know... that my pride, my arrogance, my petulant wrath, my ignorance... I know they can all go to hell because I have everything I need- everything I want right here."

"Way to get sappy on me," the younger archangel huffed, though he had no way to deny that he felt the same about the statement. Well, the last part of it anyway. Gabriel was quiet for another moment, and then he brought up something that Lucifer knew had been bothering him even when Gabriel was still just Gabriel, the boy. "So Dad's gone… for real this time?"

Lucifer turned marginally to rest his chin on top of Gabriel's head. "You know how He is, Gabriel. He's probably drinking a whiskey in some far off corner of the universe with Amara, but He's also, undoubtedly, watching us."

"You made that sound really creepy, Luci," Gabriel teased, moving a hand to poke Lucifer in the thigh before drawing his hand back to fiddle with a nonexistent speck on the sleeve of his jacket. "At least you got to talk to Him again… that's more than what I ever asked for."

"At least you didn't have to go through Him leaving again," Lucifer murmured back.

Gabriel heaved a heavy sigh. "Well, ya can't have it all… Shouldn't we, I dunno, go back inside and let the Winchester gang know that we're cool now?"

"They would love that," Lucifer commented, not making any move to get up.

Gabriel stayed where he was, too. They simply continued to sit there. Truly, the two brothers would have been content to just sit there for an eternity. They had found each other, and neither wanted to let the other go.

"We could go anywhere," Lucifer spoke up out of nowhere.

Gabriel glanced up at Lucifer, shifting again. "Finally taking a shot at running away, big bro?"

"I mean it, Gabriel," Lucifer said seriously. "We can leave it all behind and go where we won't have to worry about Heaven or Hell or Earth. We can make our own little paradise."

"You know I can't do that, Lucifer," Gabriel told him, pulling away and sitting up to look at his brother properly. "I can't just leave Lucilia—"

"You already left her once—"

"Yeah, and I did it again the just other day. But Dad help me, I will _not_ abandon her to some piss poor life that was messed up _because of me_ ," Gabriel growled, a golden fire igniting in his amber eyes.

Lucifer didn't shy away from his angered brother, nor did he rise to meet Gabriel's challenge. No, that wouldn't have helped anything. So, instead, Lucifer went about the topic another way. "Then what do we do now?" he asked, turning the original question back on Gabriel.

"Hell if I know," the younger archangel muttered. "But if we're going back inside, I'm letting you know right now that I totally pranked Sam earlier."

"What did you do?" Lucifer asked curiously.

"You'll see," he replied mischievously. "I'll change his hair back… eventually," he added on with a shrug a couple moments later.

Lucifer quietly took in the information, mentally preparing himself for whatever had been done to Sam's hair, and roved his eyes back up towards the white bespeckled canvas of the night. He noted the lightening of the sky from true night into twilight, which heralded the coming of dawn. Dark – almost black – blue slid to offset violet, the horizon then being colored in a deep pink, orange and yellow with a tinge of white.

"Hey, Luce…" Gabriel started slowly – his voice drawing Lucifer's attention. Lucifer looked over at his brother, whose amber eyes were fixed on the sunrise. A carefree smile had settled across Gabriel's face, and when he turned to meet Lucifer's gaze, the whole world seemed to brighten all the more.

"Guess we got that happy ending after all."

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 **A/N: The End. It's was fun while it lasted, and now it's time to move on to the next epic. (Though tbh, I'm seriously toying with the idea of a sequel... Fair warning, it'd be a while before I'd start posting it.) Thank you all for reading** _ **Be My Guest**_ **.**

 **Oh, and I know there probably some plot holes – you can't exactly tie all the loose ends. So if there are any questions, feel free to ask, and I'll put the answers down here whenever I can (the same applies to any reviews; you'll get a happy response).**

Last edited: [May 24, 2018]

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 **Saturnmieze:** I can read your English just fine, don't worry about it. As for your questions... I leave Lucifer's reaction to Gabriel's prank up to your imagination; yes, there were actually ribbons, and for the fun of it, let's say they were rainbow colored. Raphael is dead, and I'm leaving him dead. No offense to the archangel, but I just don't like his character in Supernatural. Meanwhile, Michael? Hmm, who knows. According to Lucifer this last episode (12x17), Michael is "drooling and insane", but hey, you never know... As for a sequel, I have a rough (and I mean _really_ rough) outline of what I want to happen, so you'll be getting one eventually. Don't know when, but you will.

 **Tripod Gal:** Well, _when_ I get around to writing out the sequel (it's the teaser that's a bit of an if), I imagine that if I did have Michael appear, it would probably be at the middle-end-ish. He wouldn't have a very prominent role as the sequel is looking like it's going to revolve around Lucifer, Gabriel, TFW+Mary, and Crowley, maybe Rowena, and then the British Men of Letters. I was tossing ideas back and forth with my sister, and she gave me a great idea about a plot twist for Michael that I guess I could make work if you people _really_ do want to see Michael in the sequel.

 **Dante Pandemonium** **:** Who said it's over? Lol. An ending just means there's a beginning somewhere else.

 **catlover2976:** I'm glad you loved it!

 **Broken Twisted Lullabies:** I know the feeling – school just _loves_ getting in the way. I'm going to have to say that Sam would have never gotten the glitter out on his own (*smirks evilly*), but eventually the glitter would go away. I also have to say that writing a fic with a relationship centered around Lucifer and Gabriel (rather than Michael or Castiel or any of the others) was fun to write. Gabriel and Lucifer's relationship is definitely... different, unique compared to the other relationships in the show. Now, as for that sequel, unfortunately (or not, I wouldn't really know) Michael won't be making any sort of appearance (though he might get mentioned) until like the second major plot arc. The only other thing I can say about the sequel is that I have a kind-of first chapter for it already, though it's definitely not ready for public consumption and it's more like a prologue/transition from _BMG_ than an actual chapter.

 **angelofthelord00:** I'm glad you enjoyed this story, and no problem ;-) Having a happy ending, considering all of the not-so happy cliffhangers we get in the show, just gives me warm feelings and brightens my day when I successfully share those fuzzy feelings with my readers. As for understanding and seeing Lucifer's behavior... I'm not too clear on if you mean in the show or here in my fic, but he's kind of a super complex character... hehe. And as much as that sounds like an excuse (no matter how true it is), here's another big one: I like keeping things in my fics as canon as possible, but most of them are AU and listed as such. So in terms of Luci's behavior in this story's world, it makes sense.


	16. Nothing Left to Say

**Precursor Note: Let's see... Saturnmieze + Tripod Gal + havarti2 (times 2) + CircusPsycho + catlover2976 +** **Broken Twisted Lullabies + Jean from _Breaking Point_ = 8 reviews. ****Word Count: 800 even... And now for that teaser!**

* * *

 **Sequel Teaser**

 **Nothing Left to Say**

Lucifer thought he was safe with the Winchesters.

Crowley cackled at the idea. As if the demon would just let go of the humiliation Lucifer put him through. As if he would let the archangel off with a simple bash to the head. As if! No, no, no... He had plans for that damned archangel.

But Crowley wasn't stupid – far from it. He knew he'd have to be discreet, subtle about his motives. The only reason he didn't have Lucifer under his thumb right at this moment was because the Winchesters had found the archangel first, and they were rather protective of their things.

It hadn't been hard to put together that they hadn't killed Lucifer, nor had they put him back in the Cage. And that was because Lucifer had been possessing a child the last Crowley saw, though he knew (thanks to his bitch of a witch mother, Rowena) that Lucifer was now back in his old vessel, Nick – new and improved, too. Somehow, along the way, Lucifer had convinced Moose, Squirrel, the Little-Angel-that-Could and Mother Mary that he could be trusted (or some nonsense) to be _good_.

This and the fact that Gabriel the archangel was ( _not in a good way_ , in Crowley's opinion) miraculously back from the dead caused some serious metaphorical bumps in the road to his goal. Fortunately (while also unfortunate when looking at it in another way), Rowena had decided that it was high time she got payback on Lucifer for his crap that he pulled with her a little over a year ago, treating her like a slave. As much as he hated it, you could say: like mother, like son.

What annoyed Crowley the most about their little arrangement was that his mother was the one to help Lucifer with a vessel issue without taking advantage of the situation. However, she did leave a bit of a back door. That was the silver lining which would let them enact their oh-so-sinister plans for the great Morning Star.

Now all that was left to do was separate Lucifer from his _family_ _–_ That word alone disgusted Crowley more than anything else Lucifer had done in the past year. Satan didn't get to be redeemed. It was beyond ludicrous! The Devil just _does not_ go back to being the perfect little archangel because of some child.

 **~o-O-o~**

This was new.

A wide range of desserts were spread across a table that Lucifer was sure wasn't originally in the Bunker's kitchen. The assortment went from cakes and pies to plates of cookies to bowls of ice cream sundaes to all sorts of pastries. But all of that wasn't what Gabriel was freaking out over.

No, the youngest archangel was starting to pull out his golden hair because of the supplies in the pantry – well, lack thereof. Gabriel had used quite literally everything he could to make all of the desserts. But Lucifer was pretty sure that the Winchesters would be more concerned with all of the food now littering the long table in front of him rather than the bare cupboards.

"What's with the buffet of sweets?" the older archangel asked once he'd regained some of his wits about him.

Gabriel whirled around, not having taken notice of his brother's arrival. "I— uh… I was… stress baking..?"

"Stress baking?" Lucifer repeated. The two words fell from his mouth, each expressing every bit of incredulousness he was feeling. "Why?"

"Uh…" Gabriel sort of started, glancing over the mass amounts of pastries that where laid out on the table which split the room into two sides – Lucifer on one side, Gabriel on the other. "Well…"

" _Gabriel,_ " Lucifer said warningly.

"Woah!"

Lucifer huffed, not even bothering to spare a glance at the oldest hunter currently in the Bunker (Dean, obviously – because Mary was out on a hunt with Castiel). The human had clearly followed the commotion Gabriel had caused and wound up here – just like Lucifer had, although in the human fashion of walking instead of flying. And of course the first thing that Dean would notice was the food.

"Try the pie," Gabriel suggested enthusiastically, waving a hand in the direction of the cluster of said treats. "It's delicious."

"Oh, hell yeah! You made pie!"

 **~o-O-o~**

Blood was splattered everywhere in graceful patterns, like a painting. The bodies were either torqued figures on the ground or puppets, whose strings had been cut, leaning against the walls.

"What..? I— I didn't… Th-this wasn't me."

"Then what the hell did this, Lucifer?" Dean demanded.

"I don't—"

"Lucifer, tell me you didn't do kill all of those people," Mary said sadly, her eyes closed to the massacre before them.

"I didn't," he insisted.

"And I believe you," she assured him, her blue eyes meeting his. "But this doesn't look good."

* * *

 **A/N: You folks are still 4 favorites away from a guaranteed Prologue of _Forevermore_ on May 20. Otherwise, I'm not posting anything until I have like five chapters already written out. Seriously, this is all incentive. Like, it's a matter of whether or not you want _Forevermore_ earlier than I would usually start posting. I believe in you!**

Edit Note: You guys did it! _Forevermore_ is being posted, albeit somewhat slowly.

Last edited: [May 24, 2018]

* * *

 **AnnoyedWitch:** No, I'm pretty sure the cover's always been like that... You'll definitely be getting that sequel (the cover for that story will be a bit different), and I don't mind the grammatical mistakes for the most part – except for when they're glaringly, obnoxiously obvious.

 **Broken Twisted Lullabies:** I am like way late with this response, but here it is. Right now, as I'm typing this, it's May 19, and I'll actually be gone on May 20. Because I was kind of salty about the finale the other night and because of the fact that I already had the prologue written out and I was getting impatient for some feedback, I decided to post it today instead of waiting another week. You're welcome.  
Anywho, let's see if your suspicions about Crowley are spot on.

 **lalalala:** XD I can tell someone's emotional. I hope you enjoy _Forevermore_ as much as you liked _Be My Guest_.


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